My Little Pony: Friendship is One-Shots
by Writing4YourLove
Summary: MLP:FiM one-shots. Ideas taken from Thirty Minute Pony Story prompts (Each prompt is written in author's note with the prompt number). All one-shots are stand-alone stories and are under 2,000 words. I am doing this to (hopefully) help improve my writing skills over my summer vacation. Reviews are greatly appreciated.
1. The Orgin Of Pinkemina

**Writing Time: 31 minutes**

**Word count: 777**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie**

**Prompt: Write a Rainbow Pie story in which one (or both) of the characters does not utter a single word of dialogue for the entire story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM**

It's a glorious, sunny morning, the birds are chirping and foals play on the school's playground. All is peaceful and lovely on the exterior. But if you looked in the town more closely, you'd realize that all in not well with some of the ponies inside. A large example of this is within the confines of the local sweet shop Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow Dash wakes beside her friend Pinkie Pie and shortly after, realized what she had – no, what _they _– had done the night before.

Of course Rainbow loves the pink party pony, but not in _that _way. She had never even thought about it. At least, she hadn't consciously thought about it. Actually, it _had _crossed her mind a couple times. She'd never admit it out loud, or so she thought, but apparently after a glass too many of cider, her mouth had begun to utter words that she hadn't allowed it to.

For a split second, she glanced at the pink pony beside her. She doesn't want this, even if she had thought about it before, or does she? Maybe she does, but she really can't be sure. Why do feelings have to be so confusing? She takes a deep breath and silently slips out of the bed the two had shared the night before. No matter how she felt, being here wasn't helping. It confuses he. Everything is happening so suddenly, too suddenly. She thought she could deal with anything as soon as it came at her. But she wasn't prepared for something of this magnitude.

As soon as she was free of the tangled sheets and the pony still within them, she flew straight out the window, unwilling to risk a surprise encounter with the Cakes. They might stop her or ask why she's here. And then what if Pinkie woke up and tried to find her? At least this way, she'll have a chance to think on her own.

As she soared through the skies, she considered for the first time the idea of having a very special somepony. She had never really considered the idea before, why would she want one when she was planning the Wonderbolts as soon as the opportunity arose? She wouldn't want to get attached to someone just to have to leave them once she was offered a position. But it's already been some time and they haven't accepted her yet. Maybe she should give herself the chance to be with somepony since the opportunity probably won't come up soon.

Deep in her heart, she really does want to discover how it feels to know there's someone who really loves you as more than a friend. She had always thought before now that just having the other girls would be enough. But then there's the problem of figuring out if she really is into mares. She'd never considered that she could be like that. Of course, she'd never really imagined herself going either way. She hadn't had time what with all the practicing for the Wonderbolts.

She lands lightly on a cloud and lies down, the softness of the cloud cradling her. She closes her eyes, figuring that maybe a nap will help her to clear her mind.

Pinkie Pie woke a mere half hour after Dash left. She could still feel Dashie's warmth where the blue pegasus had been sleeping. She doesn't believe that Dash would leave her so suddenly and without warning. Instead of going with that option, she decided that Dash just wanted to play hide-and-go-seek with her. So with that thought, Pinkie searched all over Sugarcube Corner for her friend, but to no avail. Dashie was gone, but why would she leave?

The small earth pony wracked her brain for any reason her best friend would leave her with no warning. Why would she? Is Dashie really so mean as to leave her friend alone after a night like that? Pinkie begins to cry, but stops quickly as realization dawned on her and her mane deflated. Nopony leaves Pinkie Pie, especially not when she's at her weakest. Pinkie grins as a new plan begins to unfold in her mind, a way to keep her precious Dashie by her side forever.

With a renewed sense of joy in Pinkie's heart, and a plan in her mind, the party pony trotted off in search of Rainbow Dash. _Oh,_ Pinkie thought to herself. _What a lovely surprise I'll give her. Your time has come up, my love, you're number had been drawn. I only hope you're ready for what this little trick will cost you. Get ready, Dashie, because here comes Pinkemina Diane Pie._


	2. Secret Love

**Writing Time: 30 minutes**

**Word Count: 769**

**Characters: Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack**

**Prompt: Applejack walks in on a romantic scene between Twilight and Rarity.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own MLP:FiM, I think Hasbro does, though.**

Twilight wasn't really sure why Rarity wanted her at Carousel Boutique so early in the morning, but she wasn't one to tell one of her best friends that she couldn't come to help them out. From what she understands, Rarity just needs a little help organizing her shop. Twilight yawns as she reaches the door of the boutique before entering. She looks around. The bottom floor doesn't look too bad, but she'd imagine the other unicorn's work area would be at least slightly worse.

"Twilight, darling, is that you?" She hears her friend call from upstairs. Just then Rarity appears at the top of the stairs. "Please, come on up, I'm sorry to call you hear so early, but I simply couldn't wait any longer." Twilight follows up the stairs and into Rarity's work room where it didn't actually look all that disorganized, certainly not to the point where the white unicorn couldn't clean it up in just a few minutes. The white unicorn uses her magic to levitate a couple bolts of fabric into their correct locations as she speaks.

"This doesn't look too bad," Twilight states, examining the room closely, "Do you just need a new system? Are things hard to find?"

Rarity shakes her head, taking a deep breath that comes out in a heavy sigh. "No, no, you see, I had to bring you here under false pretenses." She looks back at the purple unicorn as she fights herself with what to say and how to say it. "I do hope you understand that I don't like lying to my very best friends, least of all you, Twilight, and I truly do feel bad. I need to tell you something rather important." She takes another deep breath, in and out. "I wanted to tell you, but it never felt right. I like you, Twilight Sparkle, no, I love you." Then she holds up a hoof, silencing Twilight's response before the purple pony even opened her mouth. "As more than a friend, and I wanted to be more than friends with you, but I really didn't want to do that to Spike."

Twilight almost doesn't say it, but she finds herself speaking before her brain can process the words. "I love you too, but I thought you were into, you know, stallions."

The white unicorn looked at her friend, amused, "Oh, Twilight, how could I wish for the presence of a stallion after 'Prince' Blueblood. Besides, I've always like mares, but I thought I also like stallions. I mean, after all the tales we hear of mares running off with the stallion of their dreams, you kind of start wanting the same, don't you?"

"I guess so," Twilight says, "But do you really think this could be a good idea? What if our friends-" Rarity jumps forward and kisses Twilight full on the lips, pushing Twilight back into a sitting position as her knees begin to go weak. "I- I guess they'll understand." Twilight says insecurely before kissing Rarity back.

"Oh, I know they'll understand." Rarity responds with an assuring tone, smiling as she kisses the purple unicorn. Twilight had never really thought about having any special somepony. She'd always been so absorbed with her studies. Maybe that was why she hadn't noticed that Rarity had feelings for her. After all, the white fashionista wasn't exactly subtle in anything. But that's okay, she doesn't have to be. They're together now and that's all that matters. Rarity's arms are around Twilight's neck and she feels the white unicorn pull away ever so slightly to speak. "Would you like to go to dinner this evening? I know a lovely little place-" Then the door opens and they see Applejack standing in the doorway, jaw dropped in surprise. Her eyes are watering and Rarity knows why.

The orange pony had confided in her that she had feelings for Twilight, but that was a month ago. Rarity had given her friend ample tie to act on those feelings and the earth pony chose to do nothing. Applejack was so shocked at seeing her crush and the pony with whom she shared everything wrapped up in such a loving embrace. At that moment she would've given anything to be in Rarity's hooves, but that was impossible.

She forgot all about Applebloom's old dress that needed to be repaired for the school play that would be in a few nights and she ran back out into the streets of Ponyville, unable to do anything but try to hold back the tears until she was safely in her room in Sweet Apple Acres.


	3. All My Fault

**Writing Time: 45 minutes**

**Word Count: 880**

**Characters: Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie**

**Prompt: Twilight is greivously injured and only Pinkie Pie can save her.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Everypony always says that the Everfree forest is extremely dangerous, but after you've gone in half a dozen times without anything really bad happens, you tend to forget the old mares tales that other ponies tell. This was why Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were out in the middle of the forest, collecting the lovely golden flowers that only grew deep in the woods and only bloomed in the dead of night. They were, of course, for the next Nightmare Night celebration. The two were helping Rarity, she would have come with them, but the fashionista was too busy working on all their costumes for the next night to come with them. Fluttershy had been running around the small town of Ponyville with Rainbow Dash who had been in charge of making sure the decorations were up and Applejack had to help the rest of her family get the apples ready for the night of fun. This year, everything will be perfect.

Pinkie Pie bounces along beside Twilight, talking non-stop about how exited she is about the Nightmare Night festival. This year, she's going as a piece of cake. "This year, I'll really take the-" She stopped as uncontrollable shivers wracked her body. Her eyes go wide and Twilight gasps, realizing in just seconds that it was Pinkie's Pinkie Sense that caused her friend to get the shivers.

But this realization came a few seconds too late. The Timber Wolf that had been hiding within the woods pounced on the unsuspecting unicorn. One barreled into Twilight, knocking her down and the wind right out of her lungs. As she gasps for air, Pinkie Pie holds back a shriek. "V- Very funny," she mutters under her breath, "Good one, you won this time, Dashie; that was a great prank." The wolf clawed at Twilight and as much as she wants to move, Pinkie finds that she can't jump up and help her friend. In fact, she finds herself backing away and then she starts to turn to run, but quickly finds that she's backing right into thorns. They tangle into her coat and tail and when she fights against them, it almost feels like their grip on her tightens.

"Pinkie," Twilight cries out as the wolf's teeth sink into her stomach. Tears run in rivulets down the unicorn's cheeks and Pinkie wonders why her friend can't use her magic. But then she sees it. The spot where the purple horn used to be is now just a jagged stump of bone. "Help me," She screeches. Soon, the timber wolf leaves after hearing the cry of her young. The wolf had only meant to chase the intruders from its land, it hadn't consciously wounded Twilight so the only likely outcome would be death.

Pinkie fights against the brambles, tugging and pulling, but each pull only makes them dig in deeper. "I can't get out, Twilight," The pink party pony cries. "I'm so sorry." Now she's crying too, the wet tears trailing down her cheeks as she struggles against the brambles. "I'm trying." She can see blood pouring from Twilights wounds and she pulls harder, screaming and crying out as she feels her flesh ripped apart. Eventually, she's free, but now Twilight is even closer to dead. Still, the small pony awkwardly maneuvers her dying friend onto her back. She didn't know that the movement would make the other pony bleed out faster. "Twilight, please don't leave me. I'm so sorry, I should've saved you. I'm sorry."

She barely hears her friend's hoarse whisper. "P- Pinkie, i- it's not your fault. Just tell . . . the others that I . . . I love them all and th- that you're all the greatest friends I could ever ask for. Fluttershy was always so kind . . . caring, so wonderfully nice. Make sure she knows . . . ask her to c- care for Owlicious. And . . . Rarity . . . make sure she gives the costume she made me to . . . somepony. Hate for it to go to waste." She lets out a shaky laugh that turns into a cough as she spits up blood onto Pinkie's fur and partially the ground. But Pinkie didn't care about a little mess. She was memorizing everything she had to tell the others for Twilight. "Then . . . Apple . . . Jack . . . she was always honest. Hope she stays that way. Those apple sweets she made . . . they were the best. And you Pinkie," Twilight coughs again, loudly. "You're always so fun . . . your parties are beautiful and fun. You should plan my funeral . . . but don't mourn . . . my death . . . celebrate my . . . life and" – her body is wracked with coughs again and more blood spills from her mouth and onto the forest floor – "our . . . friendship." She pauses, trying to remember which pony she was missing. Her mind ways beyond hazy and she couldn't even think. "Rainbow, right. I always thought-" But it was right there that Twilight finally died, her energy consumed with the attempt to expel blood from her lungs.

And it was all Pinkie's fault.


	4. A Final Dream

**Writing Time: 25 minutes**

**Word Count: 470**

**Characters: Pinkie Pie, Princess Luna**

**Prompt: Princess Luna takes Pinkie Pie on an "outing" to thank her for something.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's note: I know this one is short, even compared to the others, but I just didn't need many words to do this. I like how it turned out, though. It flows better this way.**

Luna hadn't expected such a small little pony to be able to fight off a full-grown Ursa Major, or even distract him. But the little pink pony had managed to send it off a cliff and for that, Luna would never be able to thank her enough. But she might not get to thank her. Pinkie Pie had sustained wounds that no healing spell would ever be able to heal. The bear-like creature had torn open the earth pony's abdomen and now intestines were beginning to fall out of the wide wounds.

The alicorn couldn't save her, so as thanks, she did the only thing she could think of to ease the pink pony's agony. The princess of night lies beside her dying savior and touches her horn to the pony's head, finding in her mind scenes of her friends and her playing. The princess feels tears begin to stain her midnight blue coat, but she keeps searching until she had enough information to formulate a scene.

Although Luna didn't know much about the pony, she knew enough to know that this little pony values any time she could spend with her five friends, and so in the vision Luna created for her, Luna gave them. She didn't know everything of their personalities, but she gave each of them the personality of their elements and what little other facts she knew of them.

She can feel the injured pony let out a soft sigh as the images of all her friends together came into her mind. But simply letting her see her friends for one last time wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough. Luna quickly created a land of sugar and candy treats where the pony could play for her last few minutes. It was dominated mostly by pinks and blues, with every candy the small pony liked and nothing she didn't.

As she wracks her brain for anything more to give this suffering pony, she creates cotton candy clouds and chocolate milk rain. Luna doesn't know what else she can do for the pony, so she holds the dream and watches Pinkie recreate her old, uninjured self as she prances about with her friends eating candy and making jokes. She watches Pinkie telling her friends that she loves them all and that she'll miss them. The pink pony must know this is just a vision – a dream – that the night princess has given her, but she seems not to care. She tells each one of them that they've been wonderful friends.

On a whim, Luna creates Pinkie's pet toothless alligator, the one she loved so much. She feels the little pony struggling to hold onto her breath and just as she thinks the pony is dead, she manages a few words, "Thank you." And then she was gone.


	5. Fame or Love

**Writing Time: 32 minutes**

**Word Count: 778**

**Characters: Fluttershy, Rarity**

**Prompt: Rarity and Fluttershy have their first big fight.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Rarity should've known better than to mess with the animals. "But, my dear Fluttershy, the fur makes it look so much more sophisticated." The white unicorn says, determined to make the little yellow pegasus to see her point of view. "Don't you agree?"

"Of course I don't agree to you killing my animals." Fluttershy growls, a sound of intimidation that nopony would ever expect to hear come from Fluttershy. She was hurt by an invisible wound to her heart. It was a wound that cut deep to her very soul and that wound not be healed, especially if Rarity continues to make these abominations. "Not even the most ferocious of creatures would deserve to be killed to be used for fashion. I don't care how famous it'll make you."

"Oh, but my dear, it's only a couple little animals." Rarity tries, "And it's not like I'm killing ponies. Besides, one Manticore's hide is enough to make at least twenty of these gorgeous capes."

This only angers Fluttershy more, "No, I will _never _let you hurt any animal. Back when you'd simply sheer the sheep and use their excess fur was one thing, but now . . . this? This is simply _intolerable!" _Fluttershy cries. "How do you have the right to decide when a little creature dies or how long it lives. What you're doing is _wrong."_

Rarity didn't want to risk losing her new marefriend, but at the same time, she didn't want to risk losing all of this business. Especially not the business of one Hoity Toity who had offered to pay nearly infinite amounts of bits for outfits accented with the fur of animals. This decision left the unicorn in a bind. She could go for her dreams or chose love. It hurts her to see Fluttershy like this, especially when she's mad her. "Please, darling, what if . . ." She wants to find a middle ground where she could both keep Fluttershy and live out her dreams but at the moment, nothing comes to mind.

"What if you stopped hurting my animals and just stopped all this madness." Fluttershy screams, her wings unfurling in a possible attempt to look more threatening.

And that, of course, had to be the moment when one Rainbow Dash came crashing through the window. "Hey, uh, sorry girls," The prismatic pegasus said, smiling sheepishly. "I, uh, didn't mean to intrude, but I was just-"

Rarity glares at Rainbow Dash, unwilling to continue her argument with Fluttershy until the pegasus was out. "Now is _not _a good time, now please _leave_"

Fluttershy didn't seem to care about the presence of her friend; she is only determined to stop the deaths of her animal friends. "Or what, would you skin her too? Make a . . . a Rainbow Dash cloak? Complete with wings and all?"

At this outburst, Rainbow jumps back, folding her wings in tightly to her form. "Whoa, I, uh, I can see I came at a _bad time."_

"Oh, it's nothing, _dear, _Fluttershy is just overreacting, as usual." Rarity says, looking back at marefriend.

"Overreacting? You're killing my animals for your fashion!" She shouts, "What ever happened to only using fabric and things to make your designs pretty?"

Rainbow watches wide-eyed, "You're doing _what, _Rarity?" She asks in bewilderment.

Rarity sighs as Fluttershy speaks, "She's skinning my animals to use for her dresses and cloaks and _whatever _it is she's making now. Tell her that it's wrong."

But Rarity gives Rainbow no time to interject her opinion, "No, you tell _her _that it's perfectly reasonable and that they're being used for a good cause."

"Whoa," Rainbow shakes her head, "Rare, I've gotta side with Flutters on this one. Killing animals is _wrong."_

"But do you have any idea how famous and known this could make me?" Rarity pleads.

"Well, don't animals die anyways?" Rainbow asks uncertainly. "I mean, what if you just . . . I don't know, use them after they're dead? Wouldn't that kinda solve your problem?"

Fluttershy sighs heavily, "I guess that would be okay, but I . . ." She shakes her head, "I still don't want you doing this."

Rarity hangs her head, "I know, and . . . I won't." She smiles slightly, "Getting my dream isn't worth it if you're not there with me. I won't do it. I'm really sorry, can you forgive me?"

"I can, so long as you promise to never do this again." Fluttershy says.

"Pinkie Swear," Rarity tells her, smiling again as she goes through the motions, thankful that she still has Fluttershy, even without her career. Love will always win in the end.


	6. But I Love You

**Writing Time: 34 minutes**

**Word Count: 816**

**Characters: Soarin, Rainbow Dash**

**Prompt: Write the destruction of your OTP (One True Pairing).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: As you could probably tell, my one true pairing is SoarinDash. If you do not like SoarinDash, that's fine, take this for what it's worth. If you'd like to share your opinions with me, please do it in a polite way. Thank you, and please enjoy.**

It's a wonderful day for flying and Soarin can think of nothing better than flying with Rainbow Dash. She's only been his marefriend for about a month now, but that month has been the happiest of his life. Right now, they're weaving through buildings and between posts that already seem dangerous enough as it is. But he's not afraid of crashing, not as long as he's following her.

Not that he couldn't easily take the lead; he just likes to let her think she's faster than him. At least, this is what he tells himself, but in reality, he's pretty sure that she's the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. Anypony who could do a sonic rainboom deserves that title. Then he notices that the blue pegasus in front of him has picked up speed. She's going so fast, in fact, that he can see a rainbow trail following after her. He automatically speeds up as soon as he sees this, marveling in the way the warm wind feels between his light blue feathers and how his mane blows back in the wind. The sensation has failed to amaze him. But without flight goggles, it gets hard to see at these speeds.

At first, he didn't pay the bad feeling in his stomach any mind. He figured he was just hungry. After all, they've been out here a while and after flying hard like this for a while, he starts getting hungry. But it wasn't until he heard the loud crack that he realized the feeling was a slight premonition that something bad was going to happen. It wasn't until the second crack that he realized what exactly that bad thing was.

He dove down from that height above the street, more focused on the mare who now lay in a heap on the ground than on his own safety. And when his wing was ripped backwards by the side of a building that pulled him towards it, scratching his coat and almost completely removing his left wing, he landed hard in the wrong way, breaking his right front leg. But he doesn't let himself collapse, not yet. He limps over to Rainbow and lightly presses his muzzle to her neck. In return, he gets a soft groan.

"Soarin'?" She asks softly as her looks over her. One of her wings had been reduced to a bloody stump and her back legs look broken. Her other wing didn't look too badly injured except for a couple scrapes and plenty of missing feathers. He tries to help her up, but as soon as she gets to her feet, she falls again, completely unable to put weight on her back legs. "Please don't leave, I love you." She pleads.

"I love you too, but- but I have to go get help." He says, turning away from his marefriend. "I'll be back, I promise."

She takes in a heavy breath and whispers, "Swear."

But he doesn't. He's already gone, running on three legs to the closest hospital he knows of. He gets there within five minutes and tells them immediately of the mare in the street. They take him back and bandage up his wing, put a cast on his leg, and promise that they've sent out a team to find Rainbow.

Of course they find Rainbow Dash exactly where he left her, but they were too late. By the time they got her back to the hospital, she was as good as dead. When he hears of this, her runs through the hallways, searching for the room they had her in, fighting his way through orderlies and nurses until he found her.

He stands beside her bed, leaning over to kiss her. Her eyes open slightly and she smiles. "You came back." She whispers hoarsely.

"Of course I did, Dash." He smiles, "I love you."

"I- I'm sorry," she whispers. "Now you'll never fly again. And it's entirely my fault."

"No, it's not. We were both stupid. I- I'll always love you, Dash." But she's already closed her eyes again, and the monitor is flat lining. "Please, no, Dash, you can't leave me. Wake up, please? I need you here." He nuzzles her throat lightly. "Please wake up. You can't die. Not yet. Spitfire was going to let you into the Wonderbolts next season. Please, Dashie, you've gotta wake up." But she doesn't. She's dead and nothing would ever be able to fix that.

So with a heavy heart, Soarin' lay his head down next to her and cried for everything she'd lost and everything he'd lost and everything they lost. He cried until there were no more tears, but the pain in his heart refused to go away. He cried until he resolved to live his life like it would end the very next minute and he resolved to live his life for her. His Rainbow Dash.


	7. Love Doesn't Last

**Writing Time: 35 minutes  
**

**Word Count: 994**

**Characters: Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash**

**Prompt: Two ponies spent the night together, and they each separately describe how the night went.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: I know it says "night together" and that in mine it was technically only part of the night, but I think if we stretch it enough, a night together could be interpreted as just an hour or two, right? Maybe not, but I still hope you enjoy reading it.**

"Hey, Applejack," The orange pony turned towards the voice calling to her and saw Pinkie Pie standing there. And she immediately knew what the pink party pony came here to ask. "How did your date with Rainbow Dash go? Wasn't it great? I told you that you guys would make a great couple because, I mean, how could you _not! _You're both so athletic and strong and everything. I mean, I wish I knew somepony who was just like me like that. So what happened last night, did you kiss her? Or did she kiss you?"

"Whoa, Pinkie, calm down and I'll tell ya about what happened." The earth pony says, moving closer to the pink pony. "It didn't exactly go as well as Ah'd hoped it would. She . . . well, she an' Ah sat down as you'd expect and . . . well, it went nicely, Ah suppose. We talked about how winters comin' up and how cider season's gettin' ready to open. But then there was this kinda awkward silence. Neither a' us knew jus' what ta say. Then she spoke up, said to me 'Applejack, Ah've had a real nice time with ya tonight, but Ah won't be here in Ponyville much longer.' When Ah asked her why, she told me she got a letter from Spitfire sayin' that she was bein' accepted into the Wonderbolts." Applejack sighs heavily. "That's why she'd originally rejected the idea a' going on a date with me. She was gonna tell us all, but she was waitin' for the right moment ta tell all a' us together. Told me that she did really like me, but that she wouldn't be able to give up her dream fer anypony, and, a' course Ah understand. Ah've left real sudden before and Ah'm glad she didn't decide to lead me on. So we decided to finish our dinner as friends and . . . well, Ah tried my darndest to be happy for her, but it's just . . . Ah'll miss her, that's all."

For once, Pinkie Pie didn't know what to say. And just as she was about to try to say she was sorry for setting them on such a terrible date, Applejack continues. "At the end a' the dinner, she offered to walk me home. And she actually did jus' that; walk. She didn't fly or anythin' she just walked with me. When we got here, she stopped at the fence and she kissed me, and not a friendly kind a' kiss or anythin' but a real one and then she told me that she was sorry it had worked out this way. Ah just . . . don't know what that was supposed ta mean, and just as I was gonna ask 'er, she flew away. Ah'm a little worried about 'er, honestly. She just left without another word and Ah haven't seen 'er since."

And Pinkie Pie agreed. Later that day, the pink pony commissioned Fluttershy to go and see if the blue pegasus was all right.

Fluttershy arrived at her friend's cloud house around noon and, after knocking at least ten times, let herself in. Her friend was in the large living room, curled up on the ground, studying a formal-looking piece of paper while talking to her pet tortoise. "I know it's my dream, but can I really leave knowing I'm breaking AJ's heart?"

"Um, excuse me, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asks and the blue pony jumps to her feet.

"Oh, Fluttershy, hey, I didn't hear you come in." To any pony who hadn't known Rainbow Dash very long, she'd have seemed fine, but Fluttershy could tell she was being bothered by something. "Why don't you sit down?"

"I didn't mean to bother you, but, well, you've been up here all day and we're starting to worry about you down on the ground." Fluttershy says. "Did something happen with Applejack last night?"

"No, no, it . . . it all went fine." The pegasus says softly, "I had a great time and it seemed like she did too. She didn't seem to mind that I'll be leaving soon to join the Wonderbolts. But . . . well, you see, it was all going so well until I opened up my big mouth and told her that I'd be leaving soon. I mean, I know I wouldn't be able to go out with her if I were going to be joining the Wonderbolts. It wouldn't be fair to her. She deserves somepony she can be with and not have to worry about leaving. I'm glad that I let her off easy and that she took it as well as she did. If I'd told her later, who knows what might've happened."

To Fluttershy, it sounded all fine and she understood exactly what was bothering her friend. "That was very noble of you, Rainbow-"

"But now I'm thinking about staying here." Rainbow says in frustration. "I- I can't leave here knowing that I'm hurting AJ, and I really do love her. But this is just . . . I also don't want to give up my dream of becoming a Wonderbolt. It's all I've ever wanted since I was a filly, but . . ." She trails off and starts pacing. "But I love Applejack. Ever since I left her, I've been trying to figure out what to do. I- I mean, I . . ." She closes her eyes, "My heart is telling me to stay, but my brain is telling me that even if I do stay, it probably won't last. Love doesn't always last, so do I really want to give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the Wonderbolts for a fling that may only last a week? Because my heart is also telling me to go and become a Wonderbolt and to live out my dreams. I don't know which I'd want to pick."

And Fluttershy didn't know either.


	8. Trixie's Madness

**Writing Time: 24 minutes**

**Word Count: 767**

**Characters: Trixie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy**

**Prompt: Trixie becomes great and powerful. SPECIAL RULE: Twilight Sparkle cannot appear or be alluded to.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Trixie always knew she could do it and now, with the alicorn amulet, she is unstoppable. She has complete control of Ponyville. Oh, but it's only Ponyville for now. Soon, it will be all of Equestria! But for now, she'll bide her time until she is ready to fight the very ruler of Equestria. The Elements of Harmony are chained below in the dungeons. And that thought, of course, reminded her. "Snips, Snails," She calls, demanding the presence of two of her most loyal subjects. "Bring the Elements to me."

"Yes, oh, Great and Powerful Ruler Trixie," The two dorky little colts ran off to prepare the five ponies Trixie demanded to see. She grins, the feeling of having unstoppable power once again flowing through her veins. It would be a couple minutes before to colts came back with the ponies so she waits, slouching in her throne, sighing heavily with every tick of the clock. Sometimes it was so _boring _to be the Ruler of Ponyville. Thankfully, she didn't have long to be bored because the five were soon chained to the floor in front of her.

She smirks as she descends from her throne approaching the five defenseless ponies. The white one's horn is nothing but a jagged stump; the blue one's wings had been ripped right out of their sockets after she had tried to fly away. Blood mats down the fur on her sides. She'd made the little yellow one watch as she gutted a live deer before her and killed the animal lover's pet bunny. The orange one was without one of her back legs. The pink one's tongue was gone and Trixie wanted nothing more than to finish each one of them here and now.

"Not so fierce without your wings, now, are you?" She asks the one with the rainbow mane.

"Shut up," The blue pony growls, closing her eyes tightly and shaking her head as if she were trying to escape a bad dream, "Just wait until Princess Celestia comes and catches you."

"You _will not _talk to your Ruler like that. Now apologize!" Trixie demands, but the once-pegasus says nothing and instead just grits her teeth, readying herself for whatever onslaught of pain the blue unicorn has to offer. "Apologize!"

Then the unicorn's horn glows as she realizes the pegasus won't respond. The unicorn forces her disobedient subject mouth open before using her magic to pull her tongue out slowly. "Look at me, pony!" The unicorn demands as she feels the pegasus's tongue begin to tear. She hears the pony whimper and grins, beginning to laugh as she feels the pony's tongue give a little more. Although the pegasus is trying to hold back any kind of noise, she can't for long and as the tongue is finally ripped out all the way, the pony begins coughing up blood just as quickly as it pours from the wound, her head hanging down. "Look at your Princess or you'll never see anything again!"

But the rainbow-haired pegasus doesn't. She keeps her eyes closed in defiance, knowing that it may mean never seeing again. The element of loyalty will remain loyal to her friends and her Princess until her very last breath and if that means losing the gift of sight, so be it. She'd rather die resisting an evil dictator than survive betraying her Princess. She felt the unicorn's magic force her eyes open and, although she tries to fight it, she feels her eyeballs slowly being ripped out as her tongue was. By the time this was over, the only thing keeping her standing was the unicorn's magic. When the tight hold on her was released, she collapsed to the floor, dead.

"How dare you kill our friend?" The three-legged orange pony snarls.

"Why, it sounds to me like you might just want to lose your other legs as well. Or maybe your heart, if you're so inclined to give it to pony such as that, it might as well be literally ripped out." And so the blue unicorn set to work, reaching with her magic deep into the earth pony and gripping her heart before twisting and tearing it out of the earth pony's chest. She grins as she examines her handiwork in the end, seeing two of the Elements lying dead on the ground. At that moment, all hope was lost for the other ponies. Trixie had taken down their two strongest and left only the weaker ones.

The blue unicorn grins "Who shall be the next pony to give their lives for their pathetic princess?"


	9. End Of A Rainbow

**Writing Time: 28 minutes  
**

**Word Count: 496**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle**

**Prompt: And then, she stopped.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Rainbow Dash is the best flyer in all of Equestria. It had become a well-known fact over time. And the blue pegasus accepted and cherished the title. She reveled in the praise from her idols and the promise of a spot in the Wonderbolts for the next season. It was like a dream to her and that was clear to anypony who even spoke of it with her. No, she didn't have a very special somepony, but that didn't matter to her. In fact, it had never even occurred to her that she might be missing out on love. She simply flew.

That is, until she stopped.

It came as a surprise to everypony when Rainbow Dash walked into Sugarcube Corner and sat at the counter, head in her hooves and began crying. Nobody knew why and no matter how much her friend Pinkie Pie tried to cheer her up, she couldn't. But the blue pegasus stayed there that whole day and left when the shop closed, ignoring her friend's invitation to stay the night.

They found her the next morning asleep in an alleyway.

Her head rested on her hooves, her wings were tucked into her body, which is how she was found by Applejack the next morning. The farm pony invited her to come to Sweet Apple Acres and have a glass of cider before Applejack and her siblings were to begin their chores. Rainbow Dash politely declined, walking away with her hooves dragging on the ground. She lay down in the park and closed her eyes, trying not to let herself cry.

This is where she was found by Fluttershy.

The yellow pony didn't know what to do. She had heard from Applejack and Pinkie Pie that Rainbow had been acting unusually, but she hadn't understood how unusually until that moment. The yellow pegasus offered Rainbow Dash the chance to have a picnic with her and her animals in an attempt to cheer up the blue pony. But Rainbow Dash declined and walked away yet again.

Rarity found her pawing at the ground outside of her shop.

The fashionista asked her friend what was wrong and got no answer. She invited the pegasus in for tea and scones, but got no answer. Instead of forcing her friend to do anything, she gave the pegasus a warm cloak. After all, it was fall and a chill was in the air. She didn't want her friend to get sick.

But Rainbow Dash was already sick.

She went to the library with the last Daring Do book she had borrowed. Twilight accepted it and, seeing that the bookmark was only about halfway through the book, asked if it was boring her. When the blue pegasus merely told her she was done with it, she was left in confusion, watching the pegasus walk out of her library slowly and with none of the flyer's characteristic enthusiasm.

Nopony saw the gun go off and nopony felt her heart stop.


	10. All In A Year

**Writing Time: 30 minutes**

**Word Count: 616**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy**

**Prompt: A year older and wiser**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: This is actually TODAY'S thirty-minute story from the Thirty Minute Pony Tumblr blog so I actually submitted this one! I hope you all enjoy it.**

A lot of things can happen in a year and some ponies know that better than others. The ponies who started out in abusive families with few friends. The ponies who find it hard to love and be loved. The ponies who believe that their only option is to be absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt, indisputably _perfect._

In one year, her parents had gotten divorced and her father had remarried that evil witch who demanded she call her "Mother".

In one year, she met Fluttershy and her whole world was turned upside down when she discovered her first crush on that little yellow pegasus. They had just been fillies then. Where had the time gone?

In one year, she had asked Fluttershy to be her fillyfriend and in that same year, she was hated for it when her father found out his daughter preferred fillies to colts. And of course, that was the same year Fluttershy had fallen down to the ground. That scary place that all the older pegasi warned against going. But she was determined to get there when she was old enough. She refused to believe she had lost her only friend forever.

In one year, she had earned her cutie mark.

In one year, her step-mother beat her for not acting enough like a lady and for joining the flight school's competitive racing team. That was the same year she doubted her talent was racing. It was also the year she was introduced to the Wonderbolts and the year Cloudsdale had lost the Games. It was also the year she won her first gold medal for racing. She was best in the school.

In one year, she lost her first race and failed in the eyes of her father. This was when she felt she was driven to be the best. She had to be perfect for her father because, although she knows she'll never impress her step-mother, she hopes to impress her father. She must be perfect. She must join the Wonderbolts. She'll someday be the Captain of the Wonderbolts.

In one year, her father dies, leaving her step-mother in control of her. This is the year she drops out of flight school due to the inability to hide the marks her step-mother leaves on her coat.

In one year, she learnt that life will kill you if you can't be strong enough and she leaves. She goes to the ground to live in exile and to find her old friend.

In one year, she discovers that her old fillyfriend likes a different mare now and found her talent in dealing with animals. Rainbow Dash wants to impress her. She wants to prove to Fluttershy that she's every bit as good as that apple-picking country pony.

In one year, she meets three new ponies who will soon become her best friends.

In one year, she discovered just how wonderful life's highs were and just how terrible its lows were.

At the end of that one year, she learns again, for the first time since her mother left, exactly how good it feels to have a surprise party thrown for you and how wonderful it is to smile a real smile.

In one year, she discovered everything that would make her who she is now. She had discovered her love, her destiny, her race, her faults, her enemies, her friends, and – most importantly – who she was and where she belonged. She realized that maybe being a weather pony wouldn't be so bad for now. She'd just have to clear clouds until she became a Wonderbolt. No, being a weather pony is no problem at all. After all, a lot can happen in a year.


	11. The Effects of War

**Writing Time: 35 minutes  
**

**Word Count: 903**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Storm**

**Prompt: The letter home.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: Nobody knows the name of Rainbow Dash's father. Sorry if you disagree with the one I gave him.**

Rainbow Dash wasn't expecting anything in the mail, after all, why would she? Pretty much anypony who decided to send her any mail was in Ponyville and might as well tell her in person. Still, here she was, in front on her open mailbox, removing two scrolls from her mailbox. She opened first the one with the Princesses seal. Once she read it, she had to read it again and again, unable to believe that it was true. It felt like her heart had stopped in her chest. She shook her head, closing her eyes, trying to tell herself it couldn't be real, but the words that had been written on that yellowed paper were all too real. She picks it up and reads it allowed, "We regret to inform you that Rainbow Storm has been killed in combat."

Rainbow Storm – Rainbow Dash's father – is dead. She can't imagine it's possible. Sure, she'd left when she was just a filly, searching for a change of scenery and more flight experience than she could get in Cloudsdale. But it's signed by the Princess, announcing that it is, in fact, true. Rainbow almost doesn't open the other scroll, but when she does, she reads that one allowed, partially to her pet tortoise, but mostly to herself. It is immediately clear – partially by the appearance of the writing and partially by the signature at the bottom – that the letter is from Rainbow Dash's father. When she opens it, a silver necklace falls out.

"To my one and only daughter, Rainbow Dash; I am writing to tell you that the war between the ponies and the Changelings has only worsened, leaving us with little choice but to fight. Due to this turn of events, I'm afraid that I may never be able to see you, or, if not, I will not be able to see you for a long time. This is the fact that gave me the motivation – although it has been present during all of my time in training and battle – to finally write to you again. Even as I write this, there are other ponies that are not so lucky as to have the chance to write to their loved ones, be it because they had fallen too soon of that they haven't any idea where they are." She takes a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from cracking any more than it already is. She was immediately glad that there was nopony around to see her right now, no matter how much any kind of contact might make her feel better.

"That day you came home with your cutie mark was the day that I had realized you had grown up and you weren't just our little filly anymore. Your mother and I were worried when you left, but I cannot say that either of us was surprised. We both knew you weren't one to be held back from achieving your dream. We did miss you however, and when Princess Celestia had told us you were in Ponyville, we were greatly relieved. We knew that would be a good, safe place for a filly, after all; that was where your mother spent quite a few of her years." This surprised Rainbow Dash, she always knew she felt a kind of pull towards the small town, but she'd never considered that either of her parents had ever even set hoof in Ponyville. She'd always assumed it was just because she was one of the Elements of Harmony.

"Your mother is still in Cloudsdale, but as you can imagine, your disappearance and my absence have taken a toll on her. I am sure that she'd appreciate it if you'd visit her. We both love you very much, Dashie, and we hope you can someday be a Wonderbolt, like you've always dreamed. I really have to go soon. I just hope that wherever you end up, you have good friends who treat you well. I hope I will be able to see you soon, I will try to visit as soon as this war is over. But just in case, I want you to have this. It has been going through your mother's family for generations. She had given it to me for luck, but I want you to have it now. Just remember to always follow your dreams and that I love you, Dashie." And then his signature was there on the bottom right corner of the scroll. She had given up holding back tears and instead lets herself cry. She lies down in the grass, laying her head on Tank's shell, relying on the tortoise to give her the emotional support she truly needs, even if what she really needs in the companionship of other ponies. She doesn't want to let them see her cry.

As the tears subside into small, occasional sniffles, she slides the locket around her neck and opens it, revealing a small picture of her and her parents from back when she was a filly. She closes it again and takes a deep breath, sure that she's run out of tears at least for today. When she goes to the park with Tank for her third pony-pet play date, she resolves to be strong like her father most assuredly was. If he could stand up to a whole army of Changelings, she could definitely face Rarity's mean cat.


	12. It's Just A Year

**Writing Time: 26 minutes**

**Word Count: 686**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia**

**Prompt: One year too late. SPECIAL RULE:** **No antagonist from the show may appear in your story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

She's a year too late. She thought the effects of her actions were behind her and could allow her to follow her own path into the Wonderbolts. But, then again, it wasn't just her actions that had shot down Rainbow Dash's dreams. It was a number of things.

The most obvious was that twister at the Academy. She had put the entire academy in danger with the twister. Neither of the ponies responsible had meant for it to have such a large effect on the Wonderbolts Academy. Half the new recruits had quit after that incident, most had gone home because they were afraid of getting worse than a clipped wing. Some thought Rainbow Dash was just as bad as her partner and decided that if the Wonderbolts would accept her, they shouldn't be there.

Although it was less known, the second reason was just as important. After Rainbow Dash's visit to Spitfire's office, the captain of the Wonderbolts began second-guessing herself. At first she worked through it, but she found herself slipping. She was slipping to the point where her perception of the world was murky and she constantly questioned everything around her. Before the month was out, she had resigned as Captain of the Wonderbolts, instead going off where nopony would find her to try and reaffirm her former system of ethics.

But it wasn't over, somepony blamed Spitfire for punishing a recruit because she was too good for the Wonderbolts. Many ponies didn't agree with this, but the ones who did were furious. They blamed Spitfire for everything that had happened in the training camp. None of this social stigma did much to help keep the Wonderbolt's image.

Then there was a terrible accident. In practice one day, one of the senior Wonderbolts injured herself badly. Her wing was broken in several places and she was told she won't be able to fly very well, certainly not well enough to rejoin the Wonderbolts. This was generally known to be an accident, but there were rumors going around that it had been set up so they could get rid of one of their weaker members. Of course Soarin, who was now Captain with Fleetfoot as his co-captain, had denied that anything had been set up.

Even the ponies who did agree that it was most certainly an accident had their doubts about this change in management. Some even claimed that Soarin had gotten rid of Spitfire so he could become Captain. These rumors, coupled with the ones about him choosing Fleetfoot as his co-captain because she was his marefriend, did nothing to improve the Wonderbolt image.

Those were the main reasons that Celestia canceled all funding to the Wonderbolts. They were at least the only ones Rainbow Dash knows about. But to her, it doesn't really matter why the Wonderbolts disbanded, what matters more is that she wasn't even able to spend one season flying with the Wonderbolts.

"Princess, you know most of that stuff isn't true." Rainbow Dash pleads, bowing before Princess Celestia.

"I understand, Rainbow Dash, and I know how much they meant to you." She says gently. "Just because we don't have a flying group now doesn't mean we never will. I just can't risk my subjects getting angry over something this simple." The white alicorn sighs, "I really do wish there was another way. I have ponies looking into this matter and if they find nothing suspicious, we might be able to bring them back in a couple years." The Princess says, still reading over a long scroll. "It's just too dangerous now. If Equestria falls into disharmony, who knows what might happen. Discord could come back stronger than ever. It can't happen, especially not with Twilight busy learning more about higher level magic. You all can't expect her to be able to jump up at every single thing anymore, not with all her current studies and responsibility."

Rainbow Dash, although not completely satisfied, nods. "Yes, Princess," And as she leaves, she can't help but wonder if she had been born a year too late to ever be a Wonderbolt.


	13. No Party This Year

**Writing Time: 54 minutes**

**Word Count: 1,642**

**Characters: Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle**

**Prompt: Tomorrow is the anniversary.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: I went way over my time limit on this one. I'm sorry, but I just really needed to keep going because I knew exactly what I wanted to happen. (That doesn't happen very often if you're me.) Not to mention, this isn't the kind of thing I normally write and it took a while to get the feel of it. Sorry about the time and length, but I still hope you all enjoy it and (hopefully) review.**

Pinkie Pie can't believe she had forgotten their first year anniversary. She had just been so busy with everything else going on – especially the shop, she was in charge a lot now that the Cakes have two little foals to take care of - it had just slipped her mind. It hadn't been until both Dashie and Pinkie were half asleep that Rainbow had even brought it up. "I can't wait to see what you have planned for tomorrow." The light blue pegasus had said as she yawned. That statement had been followed by, "I love ya, Pinks, g' night." Dash had fallen asleep too quickly for Pinkie to have to worry about responding, and the position they were in would not lend well to Pinkie sneaking out of bed. But Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie and she still managed to get out of the bed without disturbing her love.

At first, all she could do was panic. She was a nervous wreck. Normally, planning something big at the last minute wouldn't be a problem, but at the moment Pinkie's party cannon is being repaired after overuse and even if she did have it, how would she get all those party supplies this late at night. One pony can't plan a party and big and as spectacular as Rainbow Dash deserves. It just couldn't be done, not even by Pinkie. That doesn't mean she can give up, though. She can still pull of a pretty cool party.

She begins to consider what she needs. Confetti and streamers along with a banner, maybe one that says 'Happy First Anniversary' in rainbow colors and a pink background, yeah, that would be perfect. She even has some paints and an extra banner in her closet. She always keeps some, just in case of emergencies such as this one. She begins it, painting the words onto the white paper, but then stops before she reaches the word anniversary, realizing that she really doesn't know how to spell it.

The first solution she comes up with is Twilight. After all, Twilight is a really smart pony; she'd know how to spell a long word like anniversary. Normally, Pinkie would guess if she didn't know, but this is just far too important to guess about. But there was a problem. Twilight is probably asleep. Still, Pinkie's sure Twilight wouldn't mind just helping her for a couple minutes. On this thought, Pinkie packs up her banner and paints and gallops the short distance from Sugarcube Corner to the library.

When she reaches the tree that the library is contained in, she lets herself in before sneaking up to her friend's room and shaking her. "Twilight," She whispers, "Twilight!" The purple unicorn blinks awake and groans, taking in Pinkie's blurry figure through sleepy eyes. "You have to help me. I'd forgotten about Rainbow and I's first year anniversary and now I need to set up a party for her before nine thirty-six because nine thirty-six was the exact time that she said she'd date me a year ago and so I started making this banner, but I don't know how to spell anniversary so I need your help. Please, Twilight? If I don't throw this party she may not think I'm taking our relationship seriously and then she might leave me and if she leaves me I know I'll never be able to find another pony I love as much as her and then I'll try to get her to forgive me, but she'll still think I don't really love her but I really do and then she'll move on. When she moves on, I won't be able to take watching her be with another mare and I'll have to move back to that dumb old rock farm and never smile and never ever throw a party ever again!"

"Okay, Pinkie, I'll help you." Twilight says tiredly, rolling out of her worm bed into the chilly night air. She levitates a dictionary towards them and quickly finds the word 'anniversary'. "Is that all you need?"

Pinkies nods, "Yes, thank you, Twilight!" She gives her friend a quick hug before beginning to paint on the word anniversary and painting the background. It doesn't look perfect, but it looks pretty good in the dim light of the moon that Twilight's window allows in, Pinkie only hopes it'll look better in the daylight.

The clock already reads three forty-eight and Pinkie runs down the list in her head. She still needs to put together party games. Her last Pin the Tail on the Pony picture had been ruined during the last party she'd thrown – Pumpkin and Pound Cake's first birthday's – when somepony accidentally ripped it. It was too late to buy a new one and, even if it weren't, Pinkie spent most of her extra bits on Rainbow when they went to Canterlot for a couple days when neither of them were working. This meant that she'd have to make a new one. It took her a long time to even get the shape right and even then, it was too small.

She must have gotten caught up in her work because the next time she looked up, there was light shining across the floor of her bedroom in Sugarcube Corner. It was hopeless, but at least she has the banner. But when she picks it up and looks at it, she realizes it looks terrible. Rainbow Dash will never forgive her now.

After shoving everything back in to her closet she looks at the sleeping form of her love. "I'm so sorry, Dashie." She presses her muzzle softly to Rainbow's cheek and in response the pegasus smiles and rolls over towards the pink party pony. This only makes Pinkie cry. The little earth pony turns and runs out of Sugarcube Corner, bolting past all the other ponies as she did. Pinkie didn't want to have to see Dash angry, especially not at her.

Rainbow woke up around ten and automatically reached out to where she knew Pinkie Pie would be, only to be rewarded with the mattress. Her eyes snap open and she's out of bed faster than she thought possible, even for herself. "Pinkie?" She calls out. It's not like Pinkie to leave without telling her. She searches, eventually looking in the closet where she finds the banner. It's crumpled and torn; only making Rainbow more nervous. Pinkie may not be super organized like Twilight, but she's not one to let her party supplies get destroyed like this.

She runs out of Sugarcube Corner and takes off, flying above Ponyville, high enough to easily avoid trees and buildings, but low enough that she could easily identify Pinkie if she saw her. She calls out as loud as she can. "Pinkie! Pinkie Pie?" She's practically screaming, hoping against hope that she hasn't done something wrong. What did she say last night? Did she insult the earth pony? "Pinks!" Her throat is getting scratchy from the yelling, but she doesn't stop. Her mind reels as she tries to figure out both where her marefriend could've gone and what she could've done wrong. "Where are you, Pinkie? If this is a game, I don't wanna play anymore!"

By now, she's flown around Ponyville at least six times, but she wasn't counting. Instead, she lands carefully on Twilight's balcony where the unicorn is enjoying the nice, spring day. "Have you seen Pinkie around here anywhere?" The blue pegasus pants, trying to catch her breath.

"She came by last night, but I haven't seen her this morning." Twilight says, her features contorting into a look of confusion. "Rainbow, do you think-" But her friend is already gone. Twilight simply shakes her head and looks back down to her book, murmuring to herself as she reads. "Ah, yes, here I was; _what to feed your growing dragon _. . ."

Rainbow searched and searched until her wings refused to hold her aloft and her lungs burned with oxygen deprivation. She crash landed in Sweet Apple Acres, nearly running into Big Macintosh. "Have you seen Pinkie Pie?" She asks between pants.

"Eeyup," The large stallion says, nodding to the main house.

Rainbow Dash slowly makes her way to it on shaky legs, her breath heaving. She enters and finds AJ and Pinkie sitting at the table, Applejack is talking reassuringly to the little pink pony whose hair is perfectly flat. Rainbow immediately knows that she's going to be in trouble. "P- Pinkie," She pants, "I'm . . . sorry." Even if she doesn't know what she's done, she's sorry. She'd never want to hurt her marefriend or see her hurt. In fact, she'd kick whoever who caused her pain's flank.

Pinkie looks up at her with wide blue eyes that remind Rainbow of crystal. "No, Dashie, I'm sorry. I had completely forgotten about our anniversary with all that's been going on with the shop and I wasn't able to set up a party of anything."

So that's what all this is about? Rainbow Dash sighs in relief and sits down on the floor. "Really, Pinks? That's why you ran off?" Rainbow was already getting her breath back. Her wings still ached, but just the sight of Pinkie help all the thought of that pain go away. "I don't care if you didn't throw a party. Just as long as we're still together, you're all I need."

"R- Really? So, you're not mad?" When Rainbow shakes her head, Pinkie Pie jumps at her marefriend and kisses her. Pinkie's mane puffs back up into its normal curly state and she hugs Rainbow tightly. "Thank you so much, Dashie! I Pinkie Promise I won't ever forget again. I love you, Dashie." She says, kissing Dash again.

Dash laughs as she pulls away slightly. "I love you too, Pinks."


	14. One Year Is Gone

**Writing Time: 35 minutes**

**Word Count: 1,081 words**

**Characters: Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie**

**Prompt: The circumstances leading to, following, or surrounding someone beginning a speech with, "One year ago, on this day…"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: I'm sorry about my last one-shot. It was very OOC and I apologize. Happy endings are not my strong suit, but I'm doing this to get better. Besides, you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. Thank you to all who have not given up on me. I hope you all enjoy and review.**

"One year ago, on this exact day, you moved to Ponyville." The visitor says quietly to the purple unicorn lying before her. "I couldn't believe it. I thought you were just gonna leave us for your more sophisticated – I'm pretty sure that was the word Rarity used – home in Canterlot. I mean, it's not that I thought you weren't trustworthy, but you were living in the Canterlot castle. That's a big honor for anypony. But then you gave it up so you could be with us and . . . well, I guess that's what really made me believe you were trustworthy." Although Twilight can't see it, her visitor's gaze runs over the plain, white walls, searching for nothing in particular. She simply cannot look at the unicorn before her. She's too embarrassed. "Then there was that gala ticket thing. I really thought you were gonna give the ticket to Applejack. I mean, looking back on it, she _did _seem to have the best reason to go. But you didn't give it to her, you would've completely given up and chance of going just because we were being a bunch of jerk, that was . . . amazing. I don't . . . that would count as generosity, I think. Giving up your ticket like that . . ." The pony trails off and Twilight wonders if she's decided to leave.

"You've saved our lives countless times. That time Applejack went crazy and decided she could harvest all of Sweet Apple Acres by herself." The pony sighs, "You were the only one of us who had realized something was wrong. I never thought I could be so blind as to not see when one of my best friends was hurt or, you know, whatever was going on with her. I was so glad she'd offered to help me that . . . I guess I didn't notice. But that's no good excuse for not noticing a friend is hurting."

"And then that thing with Trixie . . . I think we all kinda lost it, but you . . . you stopped an Ursa Minor from destroying Ponyville. That was the bravest thing I've ever seen. I- just think what would've happened if you hadn't been able to do that? We'd all be dead right now." Twilight thinks she recognizes the voice, but she isn't able to name its owner.

Twilight hears a small thump which she thinks is the pony sitting down before the visitor's speech continues. "And that's just scratching the surface. You've taught me so much and I feel like in the time that we've been friends I've learned more than I ever had before. I mean, you're the reason all of us have grown as ponies in the last year. I- I mean, you've taught us so much about what it means to be good friends. Before you came along, Rarity was . . . well, we'd go days without seeing her while she worked on some new dress. She had always been more concerned with her work than friends. When we'd go and ask her if she wanted to do something with us, she'd brush us off and say she's 'in the zone' or to come back later." There's another pause. "Pinkie was, well, Pinkie. She partied twenty-four seven. I mean, her parties were awesome as they are now, but it was a little crazy. We tried to come to all of them, but we all had jobs, just like her. She had sometimes blown off her own responsibilities just to party. I know I'm guilty of some of this too, but I'm getting to that."

"Fluttershy was a _lot _shyer before you came along and helped her open up. She would barely talk to anyone at all. It took a lot of convincing to even get her to speak to the others when they first met. I had known her since we were fillies and . . . well, she wasn't always that shy. She doesn't talk about why she got shy, though. Not even to me."

"Applejack's change was more subtle. At least, to me it was. I mean, there are some differences in her. She's learned that she has limits and that she can't work all day." She hears the pony chuckle awkwardly. "I know she's changed more than that. She's learned that sometimes it's okay to let practicality take a backseat to fashion or, you know, girly stuff. I'm sure there's more about each of them that I can't remember right now."

"Then there's me. I know it's probably not true, but it feels like I'm a whole different pony now. I mean, I've learned so much about myself and the world around me. You've really helped me open my eyes and that's changed me in so many ways, I wouldn't know where to begin. I've learned that you can be cool but still read books. You taught me that if you brag too much, nopony will want to be your friend. You've taught me that you just need to keep going, even if you think you're going to fail." There's a short pause and Twilight wonders what the pony it doing. "I know I shouldn't say this now, but I need to. I can't keep it inside of me any longer . . ." She hears the pony take a deep breath. "I love you, Twilight. But that probably doesn't matter, right? Because you probably don't even know who I am, after all, that fall really hurt you bad. You know they don't think you'll ever wake up outta that coma. It's already been a month and they're . . . well, your parents came by and they said they wanted the plug pulled. Said it'd be better if you died than lose everything you've ever worked for. Even if you woke up, you'd never walk or talk. You might not even be able to open your eyes. You might not ever recover from the amnesia and you'd never be able to do magic again."

Then Twilight hears hoof-steps coming in her direction and she can hear three – or are there more? - ponies crying, but it's that same voice as before that whispers the final words she hears. "We all love you, Twi, and we'll see you again someday." Then, just as she remembers who that voice belongs to, she loses her delicate grip on the world.


	15. Let's Play A Game

**Writing Time: 38 minutes**

**Word Count: 975**

**Characters: Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle**

**Prompt: Twilight experiments on Pinkie.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Pinkie pulls at the bonds holding her hooves to the cold metal table as Twilight comes over, a levitating clipboard and quill in her magical grip. "I _will _understand the Pinkie Sense." The purple unicorn growls under her breath. Her previous experiments – little harmless ones that measured her pink friend's vital signs throughout the course of a Pinkie Sense prediction - hadn't done any good, but this one _will _work, Twilight is certain of that.

"Twilight . . ." Pinkie whimpers as her friend checks her vitals. "What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, Pinkie, it's just a little game." Twilight says passively, "It's not going to hurt you. I just need to examine the Pinkie Sense in a more controlled environment." She's nearly certain that this will work. Before, she had been going about it all wrong. Now she knows you can't look at the Pinkie Sense as something biological. Twilight believes that it must be something psychological that allows Pinkie to make these predictions. Once she knows how it works in a controlled environment, she can study it better in Ponyville, with more unpredictable variables.

"It doesn't seem like a very fun game . . ." She says timidly as Twilight pulls out a large needle and slides it into Pinkie's foreleg. When she pushes the plunger, a sedative enters Pinkie Pie's veins, putting the pink party pony to sleep in the space of five minutes.

About an hour later, Pinkie Pie wakes up inside of her bedroom in Sugarcube Corner. It all feels perfectly normal to her, just like any other day. She smiles, knowing what she believed had happened was just a dream. After all, Twilight doesn't have any reason to want to hurt Pinkie. She even agrees that the Pinkie Sense is something that just makes no sense.

Pinkie trots down the stairs to where the Cakes should be, but aren't. This doesn't surprise Pinkie too much; she figures they probably just took the foals out to the park or that they might still be sleeping. After all, the shop doesn't open until ten on Sundays. As she leaves the store, though, she notices that the town seems . . . empty. There are no ponies out. This early in the morning, there should be at least one weather pony out clearing the clouds that often gather during the night.

She tenses as she feels various parts of her body shake and twitch, recognizing a combo coming on. It's one she's never felt before, but it seems to be one that signifies some form of great danger. She doesn't hesitate in running to the library, hoping to find Twilight. Thankfully, the purple pony is there. "Twilight, I just got-" A shiver makes its way through Pinkie's body and she gasps. "Please, Twi, I need your help." Another shiver comes on and she knows that something is very, _very _wrong.

The Twilight in front of her doesn't look like Twilight. Well, it does, but it doesn't seem like the real Twilight. It's like . . . Pinkie can't even describe it and she's normally really good at describing things. "Hello, Pinkie," The Twilight-But-Not-Twilight pony says in her Twilight-But-Not-Twilight voice. "How are you?"

"It's the Pinkie Sense-" There's another shiver as she tries to speak. "I don't know what's happening-"

"What Pinkie Sense?" The imposter pony asks, confirming Pinkie's suspicions.

"You're not the real Twilight!" Pinkie shouts, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Twilight?"

From her place at the monitor, the real not-clone Twilight Sparkle can see her plan going up in smoke. Of course Pinkie would be smart enough to tell her apart from a clone. The close has no memory of anything Twilight did with her friends. But she _is _getting readings and that's the only thing that keeps her from stopping it. What could her friend me sensing? She hasn't activated any kind of imminent danger in the test chamber. Does that mean there's real danger there in Equestria?

She should send a letter to the Princess, but she needs to see what happens. In the chamber, Pinkie has left the library, and the clone, behind and Twilight watches curiously as another set of shivers wrack the pony's body. She shakes her head, what could that little pony be sensing?

Almost immediately after she thinks that, all the power in her home goes out, cutting her video feed to her test subject. Shortly after the power outage, she feels an oddly hot sensation in her gut. It grows, burning her internal organs until she collapsed on the floor, dead. This happens all across Equestria, killing everypony the strange heat wave comes in contact with until only one pony still stands.

Pinkie is trapped. That's the fact of the matter. She's trapped in this big, black room. She can't see anything, she can't hear anything but the sound of her own breathing, there's nothing to smell but her own fear, and she's unable to feel anything but the metal beneath her feet. She has no clue how long she's been in this room, but it's hot and she's starving. The heat transfers easily from the burning metal to her hooves, burning them and making it hard to stand. The only reason she doesn't sit or lay down is because then it'll burn more of her.

Tears run down Pinkie's cheeks as she waits for her death. After a long time, she can't stand any longer and falls, feeling the heat on her coat and wishing it to be over soon. But the burning isn't enough to kill her. It's only enough to make everything it touches hurt, like a really, really bad sunburn. She pants in the heat, severely dehydrated and losing more weight with every hour.

By her second day, Pinkie Pie is dead.


	16. Candle On The Water

**Writing Time: 27 minutes**

**Word Count: 974**

**Characters: Soarin', Spitfire, Rainbow Dash**

**Prompt: Let's decide with a coin toss. (Optional Suggestion: Try deciding the results of your fictional coin toss by flipping a coin for real!)**

** I did use the suggestion for this. Just so you know.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ML:FiM.**

Soarin doesn't know what to do. Sure, staying with Dash in Ponyville would be great, but then what about Spitfire? She had told him to go after Dash, but with Dash's wing injury, she may never be able to fly again. He loves both of them, but he can only choose one. So who will it be?

Dash is wonderful. She's competitive and strong, and she's the element of loyalty, so he knows she'd never cheat on him – not that he thinks Spitfire would, but he's already got a tough decision ahead of him without second guessing himself and his every thought. Dash will keep him earthbound if her wings don't heal properly, but would that really be so terrible? Sure, he'd lose his career as a Wonderbolt, but he truly believes that she would be worth it.

Still, he and Spitfire have been best friends since they were foals. He's been waiting for a chance to go out with her for, well, ever. Could he really give her up for some mare he just met? Spitfire and he even joined the Wonderbolts together. They'd vied for the title of captain when Spitfire's grandfather retired. She even named him her co-captain, a title that means she would trust him with her life. But just imagine how the press would react if they found out they were dating? It would be almost completely unpredictable and right now, the last thing they need is bad press.

He doesn't know how to decide between them and eventually sees no other way than a bit-toss. "If I flip heads," He tells himself, "I'll go to Spitfire and continue as a Wonderbolt. I could always visit Dash once in a while if she doesn't hate me for this." Then he takes a deep breath. "If I flip tails, I'll stay here with Dash. I'm sure Spits will understand, she _was _the one who told me Dash and I are cute together . . ." He trails off and swallows hard before flipping the bit up into the air and trying to catch it. It falls on the floor, though and bounces across the room, skipping between the floor and the hospital waiting room chair. He carefully slides his hoof under it and slides out the bit.

It takes a moment for him to process the result of the toss, but eventually he manages to register that the engraving of some old pony's head is staring back at him. He picks it up, careful to keep the same side up and examines it carefully. The bit is telling him to choose Spitfire, but he's suddenly overcome with doubt.

Does he really want to be with Spitfire? Yes, she's competitive and all, but she's never really shown any interest in him, only as a friend. Besides, she'd _told _him to go for Rainbow Dash. And wasn't that rainbow-maned mare the one he's been dreaming about for the last month? And aside from all that, how could a bit-toss accurately tell him what's in his heart? As far as he knows, this kind of thing has a simple fifty-fifty chance of getting each answer; it can't tell your fate. And he hadn't caught it. He heard once that you have to catch the bit for it to count.

He flips it again and he gets heads again, but as soon as he sees the answer, he immediately drops it, trying to play it off as an accident. When he flips again, he gets another heads. He repeats the process and finally gets a tails. He smiles down at the bit in his hoof, feeling this contentedness settle deep into his soul as he stands and makes his way back to the room Rainbow Dash is in.

She's reading something. The book has a tan mare with a grey mane on the cover along with the scene of a jungle, but as soon as she hears him come in, she puts it down. "Soarin'?" She asks, slight surprise edging into her voice. "I thought you were going home."

"I was going home," He says, looking into her deep magenta eyes. "And then, just as I was about to take off, I realized that the Wonderbolts Academy isn't my home." He can't believe he's saying this. It all sounds so cheesy, but it's the only way he knows that can describe why his heart aches at the thought of going back there without Rainbow. "Well, it's not my home . . . without you. I was thinking a lot – maybe even a little too much – and I realized, wherever I am, it won't be home without you there." There has to be an easier or more romantic way of saying that, but he can't seem to think of one.

"What are you saying?" Rainbow Dash asks unsurely. She has a good idea of it, but part of her doesn't want it to be true. If he stays here with her and it turns out that she really _won't _be able to do much more than coast in the wind, then he might not be able to go back to the Wonderbolts. She doesn't want him to give up his position of co-captain just for her. That's ridiculous; she could never ask him to do that. But apparently, he is anyway.

"I'm saying," He says softly, "That I love you, Dash."

She takes a deep breath, "I- I love you too, but-" He silences her with a soft kiss and she smiles. Things will be alright. She'll just work a little harder and soon she'll be better and able to fly again. The Wonderbolt's will let her back in after this season and everything will work out from there. She knows she can do it, just as long as she has him.


	17. Where Are You?

**Writing Time: 30 minutes**

**Word Count: 927**

**Characters: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle**

**Prompt: Maybe it's better this way . . . - OR - It's better this way.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.  
**

"Applejack's gone," Rainbow Dash exclaims, pretending not to notice that she's just crashed into Twilight's balcony for the third time this week. After all, she has much bigger problems to worry about. Things like the sudden disappearance of her marefriend.

"What do you _mean _Applejack's gone?" Twilight asks, blinking sleep out of her eyes which then drift to the broken railing on her balcony. "You're probably just overreacting, what happened? Did you two have another fight?"

Rainbow's eyes narrow. "I am _not _overreacting! I woke up and she was gone. She just, ya know, wasn't there. I looked all over her farm for her and then I went to Sugarcube Corner. I've already asked Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity if they've seen her, but none of them have. I came here straight from Rarity's place. You've seen her, right? You have to have seen her."

Twilight sighs and ungracefully rolls out of bed. "I don't know what to tell you. Did something happen between you guys?"

The blue pegasus considers the question, but then shakes her head. "Don't think so." Then she gasps, "What if she left again? What if she moved to Appleloosa or some other place and know we'll never see her again?"

"Rainbow Dash, that's the most ridiculous-" But then she sees the pegasus has already taken off. "Thing . . . I've . . . ever . . . heard. Why does she always take off like that?" She asks herself, and then, having given up on sleep, goes downstairs to the library to begin getting everything ready for the day.

As soon as Rainbow arrives at her destination, she quietly goes back up to Applejack's room, the same place she had been this morning when she realized Applejack is missing. She carefully looks around the room, searching for anything that could be considered suspicious. She looks in all the smaller places this time. The last time she looked, she'd been set on finding a pony, this time is different.

When she looks in the closet - which is actually more of a trophy closet, as it contains a number of trophies that Applejack has earned over the years – she finds that in the spot AJ usually stores her saddlebags, there is nothing. She turns around again, facing the room instead of the small closet. She can feel that there was something wrong with what she sees, but it takes a moment to figure it out.

Applejack's hat is still on the small table by the bed. Rainbow picks it up, examining it. She knows AJ plenty well to know that she'd never leave her hat at home. Although she knows full well that this probably isn't the time to, she can't resist the temptation. After scanning the room and making sure nopony else is in the hall, she places the hat delicately on her head. Rainbow knows Applejack will probably kill her if she sees her wearing her hat.

Next Rainbow ponders where else she could go to try and find out where her missing marefriend has gone. If she's already found two clues as to where she may be in her room, maybe she can find something in the barn. But just as she begins to exit the room, she catches sight of a small slip of paper. On it are the words _"Sugarcube Corner, 11:00" _and then that days date. Rainbow wonders who could've written it; after all, that's _not _AJ's hoofwriting. She first thinks of Pinkie Pie and that maybe she'd just forgotten about some kind of party that was supposed to be today, but it's not Pinkie's writing either – Rainbow has gotten plenty of party invitations written by the pink pony to know that. So whose is it? It can't be a unicorn's; their writing is always neat and nearly perfect because they can use their magic.

So whose is it? If it's one of their friend's, Fluttershy would be the only option left, but she's working on documenting all the baby birds that have been born this season. She supposes it could still be the shy pegasus, but it seems unlikely. After that scare with the little baby bunnies, Angel bunny chases her off if she even comes close to baby animals.

She looks at the clock by AJ's bed which announces that its thirty minutes after ten. Without a second thought, she takes off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, although she's pretty sure that whoever AJ's meeting is probably gone by now. And maybe it's for the better. Rainbow knew she didn't deserve a great pony like AJ as a marefriend – or even a friend. They fought too much, but when they weren't fighting, their relationship was bliss. AJ would find another mare without a doubt, one better than Rainbow. But, for now, Rainbow will have to face whatever's in the small sweets shop.

The store is completely dark inside, which was pretty unusual, especially for it being so late in the morning on a Monday. Still, the door's unlocked and Rainbow lets herself in. "Hello?" She calls into complete darkness as she searches for the light switch.

When she finds it, she hears a loud chorus of, "Happy birthday, Rainbow Dash." Applejack is there with her soon, a huge grin on her face as she assesses her marefriend's stunned expression.

"Now, Rainbow, how'd Ah know you'd forget yer own birthday?" AJ asks, laughing as she removes her hat from Rainbow Dash's head and places it on her own, "Happy birthday, Sugarcube."


	18. Bedtime Stories

**Writing Time: 35 minutes**

**Word count: 1,069**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo**

**Prompt: Once upon a rhyme . . . SPECIAL RULE: No mentions of Zecora or zebras.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: This was actually supposed to be posted yesterday. Also, this one doesn't go with the prompt very well so, you know, sorry!**

"Maybe . . . maybe flying isn't your destiny." Rainbow Dash suggests, attempting to console the filly before her. "I- I mean, maybe you're meant to do something that keeps your hooves on the ground, right? Fluttershy doesn't do much flying and she's still happy."

"But this is what I've always wanted. My dream has always been to someday be as good as you. You're my hero, Rainbow Dash, but what about now? You took me under your wing and now what? I'm almost out of school and I still can't fly no matter how hard I try." Scootaloo cries. "What If I'm not good at anything? What if I' just meant to be a nuisance and never find my destiny? I've been searching for it, but I've never found it. Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have their Cutie Marks, so what about me?"

Rainbow sighs and lies down beside the little filly. She looks to the glistening stars for inspiration as she spreads her wing over Scootaloo so it serves almost as a blanket in the cool night air. "I've never told anypony this, not even Fluttershy, but I had trouble learning how to fly, too."

Scootaloo looks up into the blue pegasus's eyes in wonder, "Really?" She has trouble believing that the best flyer in all of Equestria could have ever been unable to fly, even if every foal is born without strong enough wings.

The older mare nods, "Yeah, and I was teased all the time for it, the other foals would call me names. But I couldn't help it. I was like you, my wings just developed a little more slowly than everypony else's. I eventually figured it out, though. My parents helped me and eventually, I got good. I worked harder and harder until the day I challenged those colts to a race. Originally, I'd challenged them so I could defend Fluttershy, but I guess I also had other reasons. I wanted to finally win and I wanted to be ready and to show my parents I could be something." She pauses, continuing to gaze up into the night sky. "I'd actually also been one of the last ones to get my Mark too, I got mine only before Fluttershy and Orion. We'd been friends like you and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. Well, that is, until Flutters fell down to the ground and I followed just a week later." There's a small lull between them as a lone bird calls out into the darkness. "My mother used to sing me this song; I can't really remember it though. But I remember the story she'd tell me right before she sang me the song. She always said that it's a true story and that the filly was one of her old friends from flight school." Except, she doesn't know how to make it rhyme like her mom always did. It was always better that way. Still, this way will have to do.

"Once upon a time, there was a little filly who couldn't find her Cutie Mark." Rainbow Dash begins, remembering her mother would take her outside on a nearby cloud and tell her this story as they'd watch the moon rise and the stars begin to speckle the sky. "All her classmates had theirs, and she was being picked on and teased by the other fillies in her school. She was my mom's friend and, well, by then my mom already had her Mark, but this other filly didn't. They still hung out, though. And so, this filly would go out every day and search for her Mark in a new place. One day it was painting, the next it was pottery or something like that. This went on for about three months before she was sent down to the ground. Apparently, back then they didn't appreciate pegasi who had blank flanks or something." Rainbow wishes she could remember exactly how her mother told it, but every one of her words feels so wrong in comparison. She must be saying some of it right though, because Scootaloo is still there beneath her wing, nestled into Rainbow's side.

"So, this filly was down on the ground and she had no idea what to do. She knew she couldn't return home without a Cutie Mark so she kept searching. She flew up above the treetops, searching for and hints of clues until one day, she encountered a bear-like thing." Dash feels Scootaloo shift as Rainbow searches the velvety black sky for the constellation her mother had always pointed out. "See those stars? That little cluster up there? If you look really closely, you can see an Ursa Minor. That creature had been awoken from the stars by a very powerful unicorn who had been very reckless with her magic. And now that Ursa Minor was running right towards the filly. She couldn't take him down, of course, so she flew all around, distracting him with her quick flying maneuvers that she had taught herself over her months in exile. Up and over and around, all while it slashed at her coat with its sharp claws."

"Soon, Celestia had come in and managed to stop the Ursa Minor with her powerful magic, but not before it managed to hit the little filly. His claws didn't get her, but he did manage to hit her hard enough to knock her out of the sky." She pauses for a moment, trying to remember exactly how her mother had told this part. She's vaguely aware of her eyes beginning to water and her voice's occasional cracks, but she ignores it in order to tell the end of the story. "She survived, though. And when she awoke, she found she had received her Cutie Mark. It was a fire-y lightning bolt that represented her bravery, speed, and unwillingness to give up. Do you know where that little filly is now?" Rainbow asks Scootaloo, but before she could respond, Rainbow answers anyway, "She's the captain of the Wonderbolts. So, you know what? Just because you haven't found your Cutie Mark yet, doesn't mean you never will or that you won't be a great pony. You could still make a huge difference."

Scootaloo smiles as her gaze moves to the twinkling stars as well. "You really think so?"

Dash nods, "Well, of course. Now c'mon, it's time to go to bed."


	19. This Can't Be

**Writing Time: 39 minutes**

**Word count: 992**

**Characters: Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity**

**Prompt: Write a story about the sentence that destroys and/or heals Twilight Sparkle.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Twilight Sparkle wakes around midnight to a loud knocking on her door. At first, she tries to ignore it, but soon realizes she'll never get back to sleep with that relentless banging. She rolls out of bed, blinking away sleep as she stumbles to her door. When she opens it, she finds Applejack just outside. Twilight groans, "Applejack, do you have _any _idea what time it is?"

The earth pony nods. "Yes, Twilight, Ah do, but somethin' happened and-"

"And you couldn't wait until morning to tell me?" Twilight snaps at her visitor who remains perfectly composed, if not slightly distressed.

"No, Twi . . ." She takes a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "Twilight, Spike's dead."

"No, he's not, he can't be." Twilight says matter-of-factly, "He's right in his bed!" She turns around so she can see it, but quickly discovers that it is empty. "He's not dead," She says disbelievingly, "He can't be. That has to be a lie." She says, trying to stop her heart from pounding. It can't be real. There's no reason to freak out, he's not dead. He's can't be. Dragons live for up to approximately three thousand years, Spike was only thirteen.

Applejack nods, "Ah know it's hard to believe-"

"I don't believe it." Twilight shouts, "I refuse to believe it! You're lying. Discord must have turned evil again. C'mon, we need to get the elements together." She takes in a sharp breath, "Unless he's already corrupted them! Applejack, don't let him get to you! Remember who you are. You're the element of honesty, you never lie!"

"Exactly, Ah never lie, and Ah'm not lying now." Applejack tells Twilight gently.

Twilight shakes her head vigorously, "No, I won't believe it until I see him." She says.

"There's nothin' ya _can _see, Twi. He was eaten by a manticore." She says, "The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran off into the Everfree Forest and he followed them. They were bein' stupid and nearly got themselves killed when they tried ta fight off that manticore. Spike sacrificed himself for the girls. Scootaloo's in critical condition at the hospital, and the other two are gonna be okay, they're just shaken up. Rarity wants to talk ta you, if you'd be willin' ta go over to her shop this late at night, but nopony would blame ya if ya just wanted to be alone."

For a long time, Twilight is silent. She's too shocked to cry or scream or do anything that might help her release some of her emotion. She doesn't even know exactly how she feels, but she believes it's somewhere between grief, hatred, and anger. But she still has trouble believing that the dragon she hatched is gone forever. She doesn't know whether or not she'd want to talk to Rarity. But the other unicorn _was _also close to Spike. Maybe talking to her would make her feel better.

"No," She finally says. "I don't want to talk to anypony. Please leave."

"Alright, Twi, but if ya need anypony-"

"Go away!" She screams, slamming the door in Applejack's face, leaving the orange pony stunned. When she reaches her bedroom again, she looks at Spikes bed. "She's wrong," Twilight tells the little heap of blankets and pillows. "You're not dead. She was lying to me on purpose. That is _very _unbefitting of the element of honest!" Suddenly, she's struck with a wonderful idea. "Spike, take a letter! Dear Princess Celestia, I've learned tonight that sometimes your friends are jerks and have no idea when a joke isn't funny anymore. They need to stop it and take it back so you can get on with your lives. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Now send it, Spike!"

She laughs, "I always knew I couldn't trust my friends. But I can trust you, can't I, Spike? You've always been faithful to me. Well, I don't need those other ponies, just you. You're the new everypony! You are every element now. Together, we have all we need to be the elements of harmony. Only us." She says, curling up beside Spike's empty bed.

For the next week, she stays in her home, constantly talking to Spike's empty bed. They try to tell her when Scootaloo dies and when the funerals are, but every time they try, she just laughs. She's run out of food by now and within the time of two weeks, she'll starve to death if they don't get her out of there.

One day, Rarity has a plan. She stands at Twilight's door and calls out. "Twilight, I wanted to give you something. It's the gemstone Spikey-Wikey had given me. I've been thinking about it and . . . well, perhaps you would like it. If you wear it, then you'll know you have him close to your heart. That's what I've been doing and it's helped me very much." She says, and this was not met by the fit of hysterical giggles that most comments from outside were, she took that as a sign of encouragement. "I believe it might help you if you knew you always had a little something to remind you of him. Just so you can know he's still in our hearts as well as our minds. You see, he hasn't left us. He's merely living a new existence. He's still here, but sometimes we just need a little something to help us remember that."

Twilight opens the door and looks at Rarity with watery eyes. The white unicorn uses her levitation spell to wrap it around her friend's neck before fastening it. "Thank you, Rarity," Twilight whisper hoarsely before giving Rarity a hug. "I needed to hear that." The element of generosity hugs her back tightly.

"You're welcome, darling. Now come with me, you look like you could use a cupcake." Rarity says before leading the purple unicorn in the direction of Sugarcube Corner where all their friends are waiting.


	20. The Illusion Of Memory

**Writing Time: 45 minutes**

**Word Count: 796**

**Characters: Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie**

**Prompt: For years, I clung to the memory of it. Then the memory of the memory. And then nothing. I look upon you and feel nothing. I remember nothing but you turning your back on me, along with all the others.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: Ohmigosh, TWENTY CHAPTERS! That's twenty one-shots! And to celebrate, I've written two firsts; one, this is my first ever attempt at writing in second person, and two, this is my first time writing a FlutterPie story, so please enjoy and review!**

Everypony forgets things as they grow older and things change. It never happens all at once, but sometimes you realize it later and it feels as if it has. The memory slips away and leaves you with nothingness. Somepony will mean the world to you one day, but the next day, they're a memory.

A year or two later, you don't remember exactly how they look, but you have a vague image of what they look like, and you can't really remember how their voice sounded. You can't seem to recall any one conversation or any one moment you spent with them. Well, at least not any of the good ones. But the memories of what they did to you, the memories of the way that one earth pony practically ripped your heart out with the fact that she was moving away, those ones remain, clear as day, in your mind. Every time you think about them, those memories come to mind. Very soon, you don't remember why you were ever friends with them.

Many more years slip by and you hold on tightly, trying your best to remember anything and everything about that little pink ball of energy that stole your heart all those years ago. You're not the type of pegasus to become angry at other ponies for running off to follow their dreams. She needed to leave and who are you to hold her back? Of course you wanted to accept her offer of coming with her to Canterlot, but you could never leave your many animal friends. They need you.

That memory was once nice, but all the other, slightly worse memories have corrupted it. Now, whenever you think of her leaving without you, you get so angry you could scream. You never do, though, because then everypony else would be even more worried about you.

You go on for a while and take care of your animals as your cutie mark says is your destiny, but some days, you have trouble getting out of bed. Your heart aches for your ex-very-special-somepony and you wonder where she is now and what she might be doing. You miss her more than you'd care to admit, but you must keep going. So you get up and you feed the animals, you sheer the sheep, help the baby deer who you found injured in the Everfree forest, and, for the first time, you don't try to cling to the memories of your time spent with the earth pony.

But this only makes the memories stronger in your mind. All those years of trying to hold onto them has made them secure in your memory and you can't help but try to push the memories away every time the come up in your mind. You tell yourself you'll try to find a new very special somepony to help take your mind of her.

Each day you tell yourself you'll move on, but you never seem to be able to. You hold onto the hope, but eventually even that slips away. Bad days come around more often and pretty soon you're virtually unable to get out of bed. You begin to have nightmares about her. She'd tell you she loves you, but then the next minute, she's ripping out your heart with her bare hooves. Every morning, you try to tell yourself she'd never do that to you, but soon you stop, realizing it's doing nothing to help you along.

And then, one day, when you believe you are truly over her, you get a wedding invitation in the mail. You barely recognize her name, but after a couple minutes, your brain makes the connection. And you feel nothing about it. You believe you've finally succeeded in getting over her and what better way to prove it than to go to her wedding.

So a couple months later, you find yourself in Canterlot. When you see her, she doesn't look like how you remember her. But maybe you remembered her wrong after all these years. She is so happy to see you and you feel as if you should be happy too, but, no matter how much you wish feelings of joy upon yourself, they refuse to come. You don't feel anger or sadness or happiness when you see her with the mare she's going to marry. All you feel is emptiness, like somepony scooped out everything inside you, but you were still living.

When you see her walking down the aisle and saying "I do," you realize that you simply don't care about this pony who supposedly meant the world to you just five short years ago and you realize, in that very moment, exactly how fragile memory is and just how much you have changed.


	21. Death and Love

**Writing Time: 43 minutes**

**Word Count: 880**

**Characters: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash**

**Prompt: This one was a lyric prompt, the song was "I'll Cover You" from the musical Rent.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Why is it raining? There isn't a rainstorm planned for today. Not that anything in Ponyville has been going as planned. Nopony in the town has smiled in weeks and the gloomy feeling has been wearing on the town's productivity. The rain isn't unusual, actually. The weather pegasi haven't been clearing the clouds that come in from the Everfree Forest for the last couple weeks. Nopony knows why, but Rainbow believes that it probably has something to do with the gloominess of the town.

She lies in the wet grass, rain pouring down from the clouds overhead, soaking her mane and drenching her wings so it would be hard to fly even if she wanted too. She doesn't care though. Her head rests on her hooves as she stares at the gravestones before her. They're simple – just like the rest – but they've been decorated by flowers and wreaths that are being ruined by the rain, besides the flowers, though, the only thing that makes these markers different than any others are the gemstones that have been set into each one.

In the one to Rainbow's far left is a small, pink butterfly-shaped stone, the one that had represented the Element of Kindness and her friend Fluttershy. Dash had known her the longest of any of her friends. They'd been friends since they both started flight school and eventually she followed Fluttershy out to Ponyville. Rainbow wishes she could have thanked the little yellow pegasus before Luna had joined Discord to claim Equestria as her own. They'd all fought hard, but sometimes, friendship isn't enough. She'd been the first to give her life in Princess Celestia's honor.

The next one is represented by an orange, apple-shaped gemstone that represents Applejack – the most honest pony Rainbow Dash has ever known. They'd always been arguing and fighting, but Rainbow has always valued the orange earth pony greatly as a friend. She had died trying to defend Rarity, and she did, but this protection required her to sacrifice herself for the white unicorn.

Rarity's is next in the line, represented by a purple, diamond-shaped gemstone. She had been the Element of Generosity and, although Rainbow didn't like her much to begin with, they at least got along. She was a good pony and proved that she was – to some extent – able to defend herself when she jumped Discord and got close to stabbing him in the eye with her horn, but Luna – Nightmare Moon, by that point – had already gotten her.

Pinkie's death had been Rainbow's fault and just looking at the little blue, balloon-shaped gemstone makes her very soul ache with regret. If only she hadn't flown out of the way of Nightmare Moon's magic blast, Pinkie wouldn't have been hit. The Element of Laughter wasn't supposed to die then; it was supposed to be Dash. She wishes the little party pony could come back here so Dash could forgive her. Maybe if Rainbow had taken the beam, Pinkie would be the one alive and not her.

"I'm sorry, guys," Rainbow whispers, "I shouldn't be the Element of Loyalty, not after I let you all die like that. Especially you, Pinkie, I- I wish you were alive and not me. Maybe then everypony would be happy again and things would be a little better." She takes a shaky breath and begins to continue before she notices the purple alicorn that has come to stand beside her.

"Rainbow, you can't blame yourself, you know that." Twilight says as she lies down beside the pegasus. "But you know that things will get better. As long as we're still here, we can't fail." She says gently, nuzzling her friend's neck. "Celestia's back now and she's got this all under control."

Rainbow leans into the alicorn as she feels her plant a soft kiss just behind her ear. "I know, I just . . . I'm the Element of Loyalty and I'm supposed to be loyal to my friends and my princess. But I let everyone down and . . ." She trails off, still staring at the row of graves in front of her. "I was supposed to protect them, but I couldn't. I'm useless, Twi."

The purple mare smiles against Dash's rainbow mane. "What about me? I'm also a princess. Can you be loyal to me?"

She looks up into those warm purple eyes and smiles. She can't help it, even in the face of such danger; whenever she sees Twilight she just smiles. And now is no different. "Yes, Princess," she whispers, bowing her head to the other mare.

"You know I love you, Dash," Twilight says.

"I love you too, Twi." Rainbow replies.

"Good, now let's go get dried off." Twilight says, "Neither of us will be of much use to Equestria if we catch a cold."

Rainbow nods as she pushes herself up to her feet, feeling at least ten pounds heavier with the rain weighing her down, "Oh, uh, Princess?" She asks nervously and Twilight turns back to her. Before she could second guess herself, Rainbow kisses the mare before her. Before long, Twilight kisses her back.

When Dash pulls away, she smiles, "I'll talk to the weather teams tomorrow about all the rain."


	22. By The Stars

**Writing Time: 22 minutes**

**Word Count: 828**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash**

**Prompt: None, but it was inspired by the song "Stars" from Les Miserables.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: This story did not use a prompt. It just came to me and I had to write it.**

What about the stars captivates her so much that she can sit outside for hours just staring up at those celestial beings? That is the question that Rainbow Dash asks herself every time she sees Twilight sitting out on her balcony, looking up at those little white dots in the sky. She wants to know what makes them so special. Of course she's asked Twilight, but that pony will never give her a proper answer. And so it's been bothering her night after night. But tonight, she believes she may have found exactly what is so special about the stars. At least, she's discovered why they're so special to her.

To Rainbow, the stars represent something bigger than herself. They live for years and years, but eventually they explode. But when they do, their light still remains for hundreds of years, and those celestial bodies live on, shining down on ponies across Equestria. Watching them, she has realized that, as she looks up at them, she can almost feel their life-force. It's almost like a pony's life. They're born suddenly and soon shine to the ponies that surround them closely. But their brilliance slowly spreads across the galaxy until their light reaches Equestria and they're admired from afar. But, like all things must, they die, and, although dead, they are not forgotten immediately. Their light still shine in the sky for many years after they're gone. And even after their light is gone, historians remember them and mark where they were on maps so everypony can see. Just like how when ponies die, their stories go on and are sometimes written down. They still have affected the lives of many others, no matter how small those changes may be.

Rainbow Dash finds some comfort in this fact. She knows that her friends will remember her, even after she's gone, just like she'd remember them. Without them, she'd be nothing. She'd just be a plain old weather pony who wants to be a Wonderbolt, like the majority of all the pegasi. But with them, she's a hero. She's helped save Equestria multiple times, she's the embodiment of loyalty, and she's on the Wonderbolt's radar.

And without her friends, none of it would've happened. Sure, her first Sonic Rainboom brought them all together in the same town, but it didn't for the bonds of friendship. The fact that she even got to be friends with them was just a mix of being in the right place at the right time. She barely remembers how it happened, but if Fluttershy hadn't fallen down to earth, she knows she wouldn't have ever left Cloudsdale. As it is, the only reason she came down in the first place was because she was worried about Fluttershy.

But what if nopony cares enough to remember somepony? Then that pony would be lost forever and nopony would remember them. That pony would be replaced and eventually forgotten before the replacement continues the cycle. Just like the Elements of Harmony. If Rainbow were to die, ponies would remember her, yes, but then another pony would take her place as the Element of Loyalty. Soon, they'd just forget about her until she's just a name in some dusty old book. The new pony would take her place and do things differently. Her friends may be sad at first, but eventually they'd figure out how to get over her death and they'd accept the new pony with arms wide open.

This fact frightens Rainbow Dash. For a pony who has always wanted to be the best and be remembered as the best, the idea of being forgotten and replaced is terrifying. All her life, she's driven herself to get better and better, but for what? So that eventually she'll burn out and die, only to be forgotten and replaced by some new, better pony?

Maybe it's not worth it. Maybe living in an infinite cycle like this has no point. Why would anypony want to live if is just means being forgotten and replaced? Even the past Wonderbolts have – for the most part – been forgotten, just like anypony, so is it really worth it? Rainbow takes a while to consider the question. It's a big question that is equivalent to the query "What's the meaning of life?"

All she can think of is all the love and friendship she's experienced through her short years as a pony and how wonderful it is to have friends like Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack. After a lot of thought, she finally comes to the conclusion that, although there may not be a definite meaning to life, friends who will support you and your dreams make it all worthwhile.

She smiles up at the stars, knowing that most of them probably died hundreds of years ago, and she promises to herself that no matter how meaningless life feels, she'll never give up on her dreams, her friends, and her Princess.


	23. Foalsitting With PinkieShy

**Writing Time: 35 minutes**

**Word Count: 809**

**Characters: Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake**

**Prompt: Pinkie has to watch the Cake twins again, but this time it's Pinkie's special somepony that bears the brunt of the twins' wrath.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: I almost didn't write this one. And I messed up on it when I did. But, you know, that's what I do; mess up the prompt and then submit it anyway. So, you know, here you go.**

Pinkie almost called Fluttershy to cancel their date when she found out the Cakes needed a foalsitter urgently, but she eventually decided it would be nice to have Fluttershy come over and help her, especially considering how well she handled the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But now that she's trying to feed the foals, she's beginning to doubt that it was such a good idea.

Originally, they were going to go out to some fancy restaurant Rarity suggested, but that isn't possible with two little foals in your care, so instead Fluttershy will be coming over to Sugarcube Corner to keep Pinkie company as she's foalsitting. The foals have been pretty well behaved for the past half of an hour while Pinkie watches them and she has high hopes for how things will go tonight.

Just as she assures herself it'll all be fine, she sees Fluttershy step into the shop. "Hi, Pinkie," The pegasus says, smiling as she trots over to where Pinkie is trying to feed the foals. She gives her marefriend a kiss on the cheek before looking towards the foals.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Pinkie says brightly, "This is Pumpkin Cake and that's Pound Cake." She says motioning to the foals just as she sees Pumpkin chewing on the tablecloth. "Pumpkin," She says sternly, trying to get the cloth out of the filly's mouth without hurting her. "We do _not _eat tablecloths. We eat food. You know, the stuff in the bowl in front of you?" Pinkie manages to get it out of the filly's mouth only to realize that Pound is about to fall out of his high chair. Just as she looks, he tumbles and she leaps forward to catch him, but she overshot her target and Fluttershy ends up catching the foal, only to collapse onto Pinkie after losing her balance.

The shy pegasus returns the foal to his chair before looking back to her marefriend. "It looks like you have your hands full with them." She says, "How about you focus on feeding Pound Cake and I'll feed Pumpkin, okay?"

Pinkie nods, accepting the help she knows she needs. "That would be great. Thanks, 'Shy."

"Oh, it's no problem," She says as she begins spoon-feeding Pumpkin, who refuses the mushy foal-food. "Come on, sweetie, you need to eat up so you can become a big, strong pony like your Auntie Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy says gently, holding the spoon in front of the baby's mouth. "Come on, just a little spoonful."

"Yeah, Pumpkin can be a little stubborn some time- Ow!" Pinkie squeaks before turning back to Pound Cake, "We do _not _bite other ponies. Now go sit in time out!" She says, remembering not to yell at the foal. She picks up the foal and sits him on a small stool in the corner so he's facing the wall.

"No!" The pegasus foal yells joyously, jumping up and crawling across the room. Pinkie grabs him again and places him back on the stool. "No, Pinkie," He declares.

Pinkie sighs, "If you don't sit in time out for five minutes, you won't get to have any sweets for three days." She says to the foal who finally seems to give in. She then returns to helping Fluttershy feed Pumpkin while she watches Pound out of the corner of her eye. By the time they'd finished feeding Pumpkin, it had been more like ten minutes, but Pound doesn't yet understand time or know how to read a clock. But once Pumpkin was fed, Fluttershy begins cleaning up while Pumpkin plays with a stuffed animal.

Cautiously, Pinkie approaches Pound. "Have you thought about what you did?"

"Yes," The foal says sorrowfully.

"Do you know to never, ever bite anypony again?" She asks.

"Yes, Pinkie," He says softly.

Pinkie nods, "Good. Now you can go play with your sister for a while before bedtime. If you're both good, you can even have a cookie!" In response, the foal hugs her leg before running off to play with his sister while Fluttershy and Pinkie watch from the couch. "I'm sorry this hasn't turned out how we wanted it to, 'Shy."

Fluttershy kisses Pinkie Pie gently and smiles. "That's alright; it's kind of cute to see you with kids. Next time you have to foalsit, you should invite me over to help. It's actually pretty fun, and we still get to spend time together. That's all that really matters, right, Pinkie?"

"Right," Pinkie says, grinning, "I love you, 'Shy."

"I love you too, Pinkie," And just as they both leaned in for a kiss, they heard a loud crash to their left. Fluttershy gave Pinkie an apologetic look as the pink pony gets up to take care of the broken picture frame that was knocked down from the mantel. Fluttershy smiles to herself and whispers, "As long as we're together."


	24. Compromise

**Writing Time: No idea. I had to stop in the middle to go somewhere. Sorry! I know it was under an hour, though.**

**Word Count: 1,024**

**Characters: Soarin', Spitfire**

**Prompt: The birthday of a legend! ****SPECIAL RULE:** **The legend is not Nightmare Moon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

A legend? That can't be right. She's not a legend. If you look up the word 'legend' in a dictionary, the definition that could be applied to a pony reads "The body of stories of this kind, especially as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan." She supposes she is the leader of a prestigious flying group, but that doesn't make her a legend. Still, every day, she gets mail from fans saying she's a legend and a hero. It's gotten to the point where she can barely stand it. She doesn't deserve the title of 'legend' or 'hero,' those should go to a pony that has done something to help Equestria.

She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out as she gazes into the mirror. Another year has gone by and nothing has changed. She's never really celebrated her birthday, but Soarin' said they should at least have a birthday pie. She sighs as she shakes her head. "That stallion will take any chance he can to eat pie." She murmurs to herself.

As much as anypony would think, she doesn't really like being in the spotlight. Taking this position was almost an obligation for her. He had to do it for her sister. That little filly had always aspired to be the Captain of the Wonderbolts, but her chances of that happening were all taken away when her sister disappeared into the Everfree forest and was found a week later, dead.

Every morning since has been the same and until recently, Spitfire felt fine living out her sister's dreams for her. But recently, it's gotten harder and harder for her. She's realized that this really isn't and never has been what she wanted. More and more often she finds herself doubting that flying really is her destiny. She wonders often whether her Cutie Mark really does symbolize what she's meant to do.

After her sister died, it just didn't feel right to have a celebration without her sister. So every year on her birthday and Hearths Warming Eve she'd go to her sister's grave and leave flowers. But ever since she got her job with the Wonderbolts, she's only been able to go on her birthday. But this year, they're far away from the gravesite and Soarin' has convinced her to let him come to help in case there's any surprise storms or other problems.

"You ready to go?" Soarin asks, coming over and helping her with her saddlebags.

She nods, following him outside into the warm air before taking off. They fly in silence; he because he doesn't want to intrude on a day that means so much to her and is normally celebrated alone and she because she just didn't know what she'd say. Of course she's glad to have someone who would go with her, but she's just not used to it.

Eventually the silence gets to be too much and Soarin' speaks. "Happy birthday, Spits," He says, barely loud enough to be heard.

"Thanks," Spitfire says unsurely. She's not even sure how old she's turning this year. Twenty-something, she thinks, maybe twenty-six, but age hasn't mattered to her since she came of age to be able to audition for the Wonderbolts. The flight is long and boring, filled with awkward silences like this where Soarin' would occasionally insert some kind of comment in hopes of beginning a conversation, but Spitfire would display no interest and simply not answer. Sometimes she'd get so lost in her own thoughts that she wouldn't even notice Soarin's futile attempts at a conversation.

One memory that stands out in her mind is from two years after her sister died. The memory is from Hearth's Warming Eve, she'd gotten in an argument with her mother over whether or not it was okay to go outside in a blizzard. After much arguing, she'd managed to get her way. She had gone out and walked the whole way as it was too cold to fly. Her scarf, hat, boots, and jacket helped keep some of the cold away from her, but she was still freezing.

When she had reached the gravesite, she dug so a little patch of ground just big enough for a filly was in that spot. She talked to her sister about her argument with their mother and how cold it was. And when she felt it was time to go home, she found herself shivering violently as she tried to stand up. Her hooves were numb and she couldn't feel her wings. She fell almost instantly as she was unable to get her footing.

All she could do was yelling, but her tongue felt numb too. Eventually somepony helped her out of there. She passed out soon, but somepony must have found her there. Her mother had been angry, but she didn't do much aside from give Spitfire a long lecture about responsibility and going out in blizzards.

Soarin' and Spitfire reach the spot as the sun is setting and he follows her to the location before pulling off his bags and pulling something out of it. A stack of plates and a pie come out and Spitfire sighs. She knows what's coming. "Soarin', you know now's not the time for pie."

"I don't think your sister would want you to stop celebrating your birthday, but I know you wouldn't listen to that." He says, "And so, I thought maybe we could compromise."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Spitfire asks, humoring the light blue pegasus.

He gives her a knowing smile as her gives her a plate, takes on for himself and places one in front to the grave marker. "So, I thought maybe you'd be willing to at least have some birthday pie if she also got some." He cuts it up into three almost-equal slices and places one on each plate. "What do you think?"

Spitfire smiles slightly, looking down at the blueberry pie on her plate. Soarin' must have remembered blueberry was her sister's favorite. "I think it would be a shame for this pie to go to waste."


	25. Before and After

**Writing Time: 45 minutes**

**Word Count: 933**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity**

**Prompt: The day before and the day after.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

_Before;_

Rainbow Dash stretches her wings in the dying light of day, catching the last warm rays of light in her feathers. Everything is perfect, as always. This is definitely her favorite time of day. When the light blue of the day sky and the dark velvet of the night come together to turn the sky into a dusky grey highlighted by pink and gold, even if it only lasts about an hour, that hour is always her favorite of the day because as she watches the sun slide out of view, she can watch as the stars begin to emerge.

But the sound of a pony yelling for her distracted her from the light show in the sky, and when she looks down, she sees Pinkie Pie standing there, watching the cloud her friend is lying on expectantly. Rainbow glides down, barely having to flap her wings even once before she reaches the ground. "Hiya, Pinks, what's goin' on?" She asks as she lands, noticing immediately that Pinkie doesn't look right. The pink pony's mane isn't curly like it usually is. In fact, it's perfectly straight. "Did ya do something different with your mane?"

Pinkie touches her mane and smiles. "Yes, I did, thank you for noticing! It looks good like this doesn't it?"

Involuntarily, Rainbow remembers how Pinkie Pie had been acting the last time her mane was flat. She'd been talking to inanimate objects like they were actually living creatures. Just the thought of that makes Dash more than a little nervous. "Are you feeling okay, Pinkie?" She asks her friend as gently as she can, trying not to set off Pinkie in case she happens to actually be having an episode like she did before.

"I'm feeling fine, silly filly!" Pinkie says, smiling. "I just wanted to tell you that I'll miss you and that I love you." Then the pony trots away, leaving Rainbow confused and unsure.

"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow sighs beneath her breath, "You are so random." She says it almost as if she's trying to assure herself that nothing's going on and that it was probably just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. After all, the party pony is known for her crazy antics and randomness. But no matter what she tells herself, what her friend said was bothering her. She doesn't know what to do, so she does what she thinks is best and goes to the library to find Twilight.

The purple unicorn was just getting ready to go to bed when she hears the knocking on her door, "Rainbow? What do you want?" She asks tiredly. She's slightly agitated that her routine has been interrupted, but she knows she needs to listen to her friend in case something serious is going on.

All of a sudden, the blue pegasus can't figure out how to describe it. Twilight wouldn't understand, she doesn't know about what happened with Pinkie when she thought they didn't like her parties. Rainbow still tries her best to describe it. "Pinkie came up to me and said she'll miss me and that she loves me." She says, "Then she just left."

Twilight shrugs, "Sounds like something Pinkie would do." She tells Rainbow, "I doubt there's any reason to worry."

"But her mane was all . . . straight." Rainbow says desperately, searching for a confirmation that she isn't crazy.

"Just because a pony changes her mane-style doesn't mean there's something wrong with them." Twilight says gently, "Why don't you get some sleep? I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

_After;_

"Why would she do that?" Twilight asks into the stunned silence. Nobody there would be able to answer her question, but they still tried. "Did any of you notice anything different about her recently?"

"Well, she came in and helped me plan Sweetie Belle's birthday party last week, but I hardly think there's anything unusual about that." Rarity pauses what she was saying and shakes her head. "She did seem a little . . . tired, though. But I figured she'd just been up late the night before. I mean, Pinkie _was _always busy." The white, ladylike unicorn wipes her eyes, trying to expel the tears.

Applejack nods, fighting back tears of her own. "Ah haven't been seein' as much of her as Ah normally do, but when Ah did, she seemed perfectly fine." She shakes her head, "How is this possible?"

Fluttershy sniffles, opening her mouth to speak, but only letting out a few choked sobs as Applejack tries to comfort her.

Twilight Sparkle sighs. The surprise of it all has deemed her unable to cry even though sadness eats away at her heart. "I don't know . . . she's been checking out a lot of books recently, but they were just nursery rhyme books. She said she wanted to read them to the Cakes' foals." Then, all eyes fell on Rainbow Dash who lays one the stairs, staring into the distance. The other ponies don't blame her. She'd been the one who found their friend in the pool of blood on the floor. But that wasn't the only reason she seems so distant.

Silent tears roll down the pegasus's cheeks. She hasn't said a word since she discovered Pinkie Pie, but even if she were to, what would the use be? Pinkie's gone and nothing she says will get her back. All she can really think is that all this happened because of her. It's her fault her friend is gone. She could've stopped it.

She finally opens her mouth and softly says, "It's all my fault."


	26. Questionable Solutions

**Writing Time: 32 minutes**

**Word Count: 967**

**Characters: Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia**

**Prompt: The next step beyond alicorn.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Blackness surrounds Twilight Sparkle as she fights the tendrils of darkness that threaten to engulf her in their cold grasp. But she can't get them off of her, leaving her to fight in order to keep them at bay. She doesn't know how long she's been fighting, but she doesn't think she can hold on much longer. It feels like it's been eternity, but occasionally she'll hear words whispered to her by somepony, even though she can't understand them and can't tell who it is.

This has been her world for a long time and she truly believes she's going to die any moment now. She's come close to giving up many times, her legs growing weak as she kicks at the icy tendrils which threaten to pull her further away from the sounds. Twilight has grown old, but as an alicorn, her aging has been less drastic and far slower than her friends'. The other five died long ago, but all of them had become successful at some point in their lives. Just the thought of them makes her heart tighten in her chest and as she momentarily stop fighting to focus on holding back tears, the tendrils creep further up her body and it becomes far more difficult to fight.

She closes her eyes and twists, trying with the last of her strength to fight them off, but it's useless. Her energy is drained and the tendrils completely envelope her, pulling her down and away from the voices outside.

It seems like only seconds have passed for Twilight when she hears the voice of her mentor. She feels a small pinch in her forearm and she hears a dull, constant beeping sound. The air smells oddly . . . clean, almost as if she's in a hospital. But she can't be. Why would she be in a hospital? Slowly, she begins to recognize voices. The first one she hears is that of Princess Celestia. "Will she be okay?" Her teacher's tone is soft and sweet, as always, yet it wavers slightly, giving away the Princess's worry.

"We believe so," This voice is professional and to-the-point. Twilight believes it may be nurse Redheart, but she can't be sure as she has only heard the nurse's voice a couple times, and that was a very long time ago. "She'll need to adjust and relearn even the most simple of things, like how to walk. Resuscitating her like this is extremely dangerous, Princess. You need to understand this." The nurse pony sighs and Twilight hears hoof steps coming closer to her. "Princess Twilight Sparkle is the first one to ever go through this procedure. If this works with minimal affects to her personality and physical ability, medicine will never be the same." After a few more hoof steps and low mutterings that Twilight can't understand, the pony speaks again. "She's coming back to consciousness."

"May I speak with her alone for a moment?" The Princess asks, her voice barely carrying over to her previous student. There are more words that Twilight cannot hear as the two argue over it, but very soon, the Princess emerges victorious. This success leads to more hoof steps that go in the opposite direction and on set that come closer to Twilight. "My dear, Twilight, can you open your eyes or speak to me?"

Twilight forces her eyes open, but is immediately bombarded with bright colors and squints. "Princess?" she groans, her voice hoarse from long-term disuse. "Wh- Where am I?"

She can barely make out the blurry outline of her mentor, but Twilight has the feeling that she's smiling. "You're in a hospital in Canterlot. How are you feeling?" Her teacher's voice carries a worm, motherly tone that make Twilight's very soul warm.

The purple unicorn groans, trying to sit up, only to be lightly guided back down on the hospital bed. "Better than I felt a couple minutes ago." She says, closing her eyes again to try and escape the stabbing light from the outside.

"Get your rest." Celestia says and Twilight feels her stroke her mane the way a mother would her filly. "I'll be back in the morning." And Twilight has no trouble getting to sleep after that.

When she wakes again, Twilight sits up. For a couple seconds, she doesn't know where she is, but soon it all comes back to her. She rolls out of the bed ungracefully landing on her stomach. She pulls herself up onto her hooves and finds one is painful to walk on. Her back is sore around certain points and half her face is numb. When she blinks it feels as if only one eye actually follows her command. She stretches out her wings, only able to feel one. She looks in a mirror and what she sees at first doesn't register as her.

She has metal attached to parts of her body. On her front left foreleg, most of her back and part of her right side, and one wing has been replaced. But the most surprising thing was how half her face has been incased in the plastic-y material. "What am I?" She asks herself, testing out her replacement wing and leg. They move when she tells them to, but she can barely feel them move, it's only a phantom feeling.

Her mentor appears from behind her and smiles as she comes to stand next to her. "We had no choice, Twilight Sparkle, we had to do something or you would die. If this works, we may be able to keep ponies from dying young. Think of what this means for Equestria's future. Isn't it wonderful?"

Twilight Sparkle shakes her head, aware of what trouble her next comment could her in. "With all due respect, Princess Celestia, no, it isn't."


	27. Goodbye

**Writing Time: 11 minutes**

**Word Count: 100**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Applejack**

**Prompt: Write a story in one hundred words or less.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Looking into the dead eyes of her best friend, she realizes she never would have been able to keep a pony who doesn't want to live alive. She feels for the mare's pulse and her breath, but there is none. The warmth drains from her love with every second, each moment burying her deeper in a pit of despair. With the discovery of her friend's suicide, all strength had been drained from her body, leaving her legs as good as jelly. As tears run down her face, the earth pony collapses beside the dead pegasus, searching for any remaining warmth.


	28. Sick Day

**Writing Time: 32 minutes**

**Word Count: 615**

**Characters: Twilight Sparkle, Rarity**

**Prompt: On a page from _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #8_, five ponies have five memories involving Rarity. Choose one and show us the story of that memory.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: Sorry these are late. I've just been late posting them. They were already written. So this one through "A Winning Attitude" are late and time counts are pulled purely from memory.**

There's a loud _bang _as the magic building up inside of Twilight's horn is released. She's thrown back against the wall as the spell backfires, not that she even knows exactly what the spell does, but she's pretty sure this wasn't it. She groans as she pulls herself up and examines her library. It's a disaster. Most of the books have fallen to the floor and she had _just _finished organizingthem all again.

She sighs, getting ready to target a book for levitation, but when she tries, she finds that she can't. Whatever the spell did, it's made her unable to do magic. This happens sometimes among unicorns who attempt magic beyond their skill level or who use too much magic over a short amount of time. It's temporary – usually only last a couple hours or, depending on the level of magic attempted, a full day - but it's never happened to Twilight before. Perhaps that spell was just more difficult than she expected it would be.

Suddenly tired, Twilight climbs the stairs to her bed and immediately flops down into it. The effect of the loss of magic is generally the same as any sickness and if you just drink lots of water and get your rest, you should be fine. She closes her eyes, trying to think over any herbal cures she might know of that could help her get it back sooner.

Twilight must have dozed off because she awakes to Rarity's voice from beside her. "Oh, darling, are you alright?" She asks the purple unicorn before her. Twilight looks very pale and Rarity has an idea of what could have happened. She had heard the loud _bang _from before and had assumed it was nothing important, but now that she knows Twilight is sick, she's put two and two together. "I made you some nice, hot tea and soup when I saw you like this." She says, using her magic to place the tray at the foot of the bed so she could help Twilight sit up.

"Thank you, Rarity," Twilight says, her voice sounding slightly muffled with sickness. "You're the greatest." As she speaks, the white unicorn places the tray on Twilight's lap, pouring tea into a cup for her.

"It is no problem at all; I love to help my friends." Rarity tells Twilight, her voice taking on a soothing, almost motherly tone.

"I tried out that spell I found the other day, but it kind of backfired." She says as she picks up the tea cup, trying to get used to using her hooves to drink. It's rather awkward for her and it makes her wonder how earth ponies and pegasi do it every day. She figures that they're probably used to it, seeing as even she had before she was able to use magic. When she takes a sip, the warmth spreads through her body and encourages her to take another sip

Rarity smiles, "My parents always told me that whenever a unicorn is suffering from an overuse of magic, the best thing to give them is dandelion tea. They always said it helps a pony get better faster and, although I don't know whether I believe it or not, it's most certainly worth a try."

And as Twilight finishes off the cup of tea, she realizes that she is feeling much better. Her attempt at a simple levitation spell fails, but at this rate, she's pretty sure she'll have her magic back in no time. "You have no idea how much this means to me." Twilight tells the unicorn for the second time. "I have no idea what I would have done without you."


	29. Shades of Fire

**Writing Time: 46 minutes**

**Word Count: 654**

**Characters: Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Big Macintosh**

**Prompt: 3 primary colors.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

The hottest of flames find inside them a shade of blue so entrancing she feels as though that beauty could never be replicated in any other way. But that beauty is one that will leave the deepest burns when approached. She's only ever seen that blue twice; once when she was at a blacksmith's shop and the second time as she watched Rarity at work. When the white unicorn's magic was activated, it would glow that shade of blue that sent Rainbow's heart fluttering. It looks almost otherworldly and she always finds that she cannot take her eyes off the fiery glow no matter how hard she tries.

Ever since she first saw Rarity, she's felt this way. She remembers how she had only just arrived in Ponyville the day before and how the only friend she had was Fluttershy. They'd been walking by her boutique when Fluttershy told Dash they had met in the local spa. Of course, Fluttershy introduced Dash to the other pony and that was when she first saw that beautiful blue glow.

But she's afraid to get too close to the refined unicorn. Besides, how could Rarity like her? They've never really gotten along and they have virtually nothing in common. So all she's ever done is watch from afar, eventually losing any chance of getting close to the unicorn when she left Ponyville to start a boutique in Canterlot.

Yellow is the color of the sun. It's raised every day into the sky by Princess Celestia so it can shine its life-giving brilliance down upon the citizens of Equestria. Its warmth brings with it happiness and a promise of beautiful days. But everypony knows that if you look up at the sun too long, you'll go blind so nopony ever gets to experience it completely.

The yellow pegasus mare who served as her second crush has always been out of her league. After all, she's the captain of the Wonderbolts. Why would Spitfire ever love a weather pony like Dash? A while after Rarity left, the unicorn invited her to come to the Wonderbolts derby as she was given an extra ticket. Of course Dash accepted, it meant she'd get to spend time with the famous fashion pony. Rarity had also brought with her a stallion she had started dating when she first moved. At first Rainbow was jealous, but that all wore off when the race started. Spitfire's coat had glistened in the sun, making her look almost as bright as the sun itself. At that moment, she stopped being jealous seeing Rarity with another pony.

Things still wouldn't have worked out with Spitfire as a week later it was revealed that she was dating Soarin', the co-captain of the Wonderbolts. For a couple days, Dash had trouble even getting out of bed, but she got over it eventually, accepting the fact that Spitfire never has been and never will be her's.

And right now she couldn't be happier that none of that worked out. She sighs into the stallion's warm red coat. Red is the color of warmth. A red fire is cooler than one either blue or yellow, but it's still hot enough to warm you on a cold winter night. It doesn't burn as deep, but if treated improperly it can still hurt you. This isn't just some schoolyard crush like the others were. This is real.

She can't tell exactly when she realized she loves the farm-pony; she supposes he just grew on her. Maybe it's just that he's so different from her. Rainbow can swear she heard Twilight saying something about opposites attracting, not that she knows exactly what that means. But that doesn't matter. If she's honest with herself, she hadn't thought about possibly liking stallions until they actually started talking one Hearts and Hooves Day.

Rainbow loves Big Mac, and right now, in this moment, that's all that really matters.


	30. Be Brave

**Writing Time: 25 minutes**

**Word Count: 383**

**Characters: Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom  
**

**Prompt: One of the Cutie Mark Crusaders ships two of the others.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

"Go ask 'er!" Apple Bloom exclaims, shoving Scootaloo towards Sweetie Belle who is playing on the other side of the playground, waiting for the other two to come back from the "bathroom" although they've just snuck behind a bush. And now, here's Apple Bloom, trying to convince the toughest filly she knows to ask Sweetie Belle out. Granted, they are just fillies, but she's sure they'd make a great couple.

"No, I can't," Scootaloo continues, digging her hooves into the ground to try and stop Apple Bloom from pushing her even further. "She'd never go for me. I'm a pegasus who can't fly – a chicken, and Sweetie's like . . . like some celestial being that was a gift from Celestia. I can't take that kind of rejection, AB!"

"Ya jus' haven't grown into 'em wings yet, you know that." Apple Bloom assures her. "Besides, Sweetie can't use magic much yet." This same basic thing has been happening for a while and every day it would end the same. Scootaloo would refuse and they would just go about the rest of their day. But Apple Bloom can feel that today will be different. "Now go get 'er, tiger!"

Although Scootaloo still much prefers being compared to a tiger rather than a chicken, the statement is completely pointless to tell Scootaloo. "If I ask her will you leave me alone about this?" She asks, more annoyed than angry and, at the same time, glad that her friend is pushing her to do this because it gives her a reason to tell Sweetie about it. Apple Bloom's only reaction is vigorous hoed-nodding, and so the orange pegasus trots over to the other side of the schoolyard. She immediately confronts her target, immediately begging to speak as not to second guess and stop herself. "Hey, Sweetie Belle, I kinda sorta wanna maybe talk to you about something."

Sweetie Belle smiles at her. "What's up, Scootaloo?"

"Well, uh, I was wondering if maybe you might be interested in possibly going out with me, you know, if that's cool with you." Scootaloo says, wanting to kick herself for sounding so stupid. But the response is more than she ever could have asked for. Sweetie kisses Scootaloo on the cheek and hugs her tightly.

"I would love to."


	31. A Winning Attitude

**Writing Time: 35 minutes**

**Word count: 901**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Gilda, Hoops, Score, other ponies**

**Prompt:** **Learning to fight.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

**Author's Note: I've begun actually working on a story based on this general idea for Rainbow Dash's past. As far as I know, this is my idea. Would you guys like to see a headcannon fanfiction about Rainbow Dash's past? PM me or put your response in your review.**

Rainbow takes in a deep breath, closing her eyes tightly. She can hear her dad coming up the stairs, ready to wake her up as he has every day before flight camp. She grits her teeth, trying to resist crying, even if it's just for now. "Dashie, it's time to wake up!" He announces from just outside the young filly's door.

She wants so badly just to say "no" but she can't. Every time she tries to respond, her throat closes up and tears run down her face. She wants to tell him so badly about the mean colts who make fun of her and who have tormented her for the past week. And today will probably be no different.

Instead, she sighs, sitting up in her soft cloud bed and yawning. "I'll be right there, daddy." She calls, loud enough for him to hear, but so loud that she's yelling. Quickly, she brushes her teeth and mane before pulling on her saddle-bags that her mom packed with her lunch for today. Looking up into his kind green eyes, she feels so inclined to spill absolutely everything, but she resists. She needs to learn how to fight her own battles. At least, that's what all the other foals tell her.

As he has every day, her father flies her to the camp, dropping her off and kissing her lightly on the forehead. "I'll see you in a couple hours, have fun!" He calls back as he takes off back towards home. She waves back until he's out of sight, and that's when she hears them.

"Hey there, Rainbow Crash," He says, his voice coming from directly behind her. He's a year older than her, but the camp groups campers by age, each containing three ages. Rainbow is the youngest and, since all three of those colts are a year older than her, they are too. "Aww, does daddy still fly you places?" He taunts.

For the first time, even though her wings ache to take her up into the air to try and escape them, she stays, hooves planted firmly atop the clouds, her wings spread and her ears laid back against her head in an attempt to seem more threatening than she really is.

"What are you, a little newborn foal who still need her mommy and daddy to change her diapers?" The larger colt asks as his cronies snicker behind him, giving him hoof-bumps supposedly because of the good insult.

"At least mine love me." She sneers back, still holding her distance, terrified the larger colt may jump her at any moment. Her insult was low and she realizes as soon as she's said it that it may have been a bit much. He doesn't back down though, seeming to almost revel in the crowed of foals gathering around them to watch as somepony finally stands up to the bullies.

"You're kidding, right?" He snorts, rolling his eyes at one of his cronies as if he's mocking the filly before he steps forward. "Who are you to talk? Why would your brother have committed suicide if your parents loved you both?" The very mention of her brother rips open fresh wounds and makes the little blue filly's heart ache. "That's what I thought." He growls, now a mere hoof's-width from Dash.

She takes a deep breath, trying to collect herself, knowing full well that if she loses this battle, she'll need to put up with them for a lot longer. When she once again opens her eyes, she glares at the older pony, pushing down all sadness and desperation, leaving only anger coursing through her veins. "Well, if your parents love you so much, why has your daddy been drinking ever since you were born?"

He returns her look, but she can see him shaking slightly. There's complete silence for a long time, both ponies shaking from the tension in the very air. It seems in that moment that all of Cloudsdale has been silenced for the two. She actually kind of feels bad for saying those things about him. After all, nopony should be teased like that. Still, it was self-defense, she had no choice. Finally, he shakes his head. "Get outta my sky, Rainbow Crash." He growls as he walks away with the other two colts right behind him.

A griffin about double her size comes up and watches the colts leave before smirking. "So, Rainbow Dash, huh?"

"Yeah." The filly says, unable to believe that she had just won against the biggest bullies in the camp. She realizes that winning feels pretty good and that it's something she can definitely get used to. She grins, "The one and only."

"I'm Gilda and I just wanted to say that was pretty rad. We should totally hang out sometime." The griffin says, laid back and easy going, like this kind of thing happens all the time. "Is that cool with you?"

Dash tries her best to mimic the behavior, tucking her wings back into her sides and smiling a smile she hopes looks easygoing and cool. "Hay yeah," She exclaims, wincing as her voice cracks.

"I can totally teach you everything you need to know about how to really get those bratty colts to worship you." The griffin says, leading Dash away from the larger group of ponies. "After all, you've got the attitude of a real winner."


	32. Black Magic

**Writing Time: 39 minutes**

**Word count: 872**

**Characters: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy**

**Prompt: Write a story that explains the circumstances surrounding one or more of the pictures used in the prompt posts for today. SPECIAL RULE: The stories may not be related to the circumstances from which the pictures have been lifted; they must be obviously of your own design.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

Twilight takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as her gaze flickers over the other four ponies sitting around the red circle. First, her gaze meets Rarity's. In the white unicorn's eyes she finds both despair and determination. She's perfect for this kind of spell, willing to give anything for her best friend. After all, it had been Rarity's idea in the first place to even attempt black magic. Of course Twilight resisted at first, but Rarity made several very good points, one of which was that Equestria is essentially defenseless without all six Elements of Harmony present.

"Are you ready?" Twilight asks, her nerves catching up to her. Just one mistake and she could lose everything.

"Of course, darling, and don't worry, nopony is better at magic than you," Rarity says, the gentleness in her voice helping to encourage Twilight.

"Generosity is the first element," she begins, her whole body shaking as the unicorn begins to gain a faint, blue aura, "may she guide our lost soul back to us, risking her very sanity for Honesty." Twilight's horn glows red as Rarity's aura becomes stronger, the unicorn's mane blowing about her face as if it's got a mind of its own, but she remains planted on the ground, sitting inside one of the five smaller circles which are all connected with lines. They all combine in the center to form a small circle where Applejack's body lays.

The pony next is Fluttershy. Her turquoise eyes are wide with fear and watery with tears from all her recent loss. She has always been against this as it involves blood being used to create the circle. That blood would have had to come from the animals, and most of it still did, but the five ponies left had given as much as they could. Still, they need strength for this spell to work. Fluttershy still agreed though, and now, she gives Twilight a nod, letting her know that, although terrified, she's ready.

Clearing her throat, Twilight begins, "The next element is Kindness. May this kind little pony show the compassion needed to coax a spirit out of the afterworld." A golden aura surrounds Fluttershy as Twilight speaks, begging to feel the magical strain, but she refuses to give up. She knows she can do this. She has to be able to. A narrow purple beam of light entwines itself around Rarity, then finding Fluttershy and doing the same, leaving a small string between them.

Pinkie Pie is the one Twilight's gaze meets next. The little pony was the only one who'd been completely against it in the beginning. She hadn't wanted to delve into black magic, but she still cares for Applejack very much and the thought of even being able to say goodbye eventually got her to do it. "I'm ready, let's do this." The earth pony's head drops so she's looking at the ground as Twilight speaks. "Laughter is our next element," Twilight says, hoping against hope that this is working how it's supposed to as a light pink aura surrounds Pinkie. "May she help our lost one see once again that bright and cheerful things exist in the world." And with those words, the pink pony is slowly entwined in the purple string.

Twilight can feel the ache that always begins to appear when she's practicing especially difficult magic, but she ignores the burn as the turns to the last one. The rainbow-manes pegasus wipes her nose, trying to stop the tears that stream down her cheeks. "Are you ready?" Twilight asks, groaning with exertion, trying her hardest to hold onto the spell, unintentionally gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes.

"Yes," Rainbow Dash says, looking from Applejack's body up into Twilight's eyes, "let's do this for Applejack."

"For Applejack," Twilight says, smiling weakly before planting her hooves even further into the ground, getting ready to cast the fourth part. "Our next element is Loyalty. May she help Honesty to see that we, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, are forever loyal to each other, even in death." The unicorn doesn't see the light blue aura form around Dash, but she can feel it as more of her energy drains.

Now, it's only herself. "Finally," she announces in the strongest voice she can, "the element of Magic. May I supply all the energy our lost one needs to cross the invisible barrier between our two worlds." She feels the wind blow her mane and memories of Applejack's life fill her mind. Although she would be content to merely sit there and watch, she had to finish. "In the name of Princess Celestia, I demand you return to serve your Princess." Then, there's a loud bang as all the built-up magic released and a bright, purple cloud of smoke blows around in the sky of Ponyville.

And as everypony lays on the ground, completely exhausted after that spell, Applejack's eyes open once again.


	33. World of Grey

**Writing Time: 34 minutes**

**Word count: 818**

**Characters: Rainbow Dash, Applejack**

**Prompt: How to fight loneliness.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM.**

It's always been difficult for her. Maybe she doesn't feel that it's worth mentioning to anypony, but the loneliness is still often one of the most powerful feelings she has some days. Of course, she's almost never actually _alone _when she feels like she is. No, she's almost constantly surrounded by her five friends. Therefore, she is not alone and has no reason to be feeling lonely. But she still does.

At least, she thinks its loneliness. It feels like how most ponies describe loneliness. It feels like nopony else is there with her, even if they physically are. It's almost like they're not there emotionally. On those days, everything feels so empty, almost like the feeling of loneliness has swallowed up her whole entire world and turned it grey. She'd look in the mirror and she wouldn't see herself as the rainbow-maned pegasus the rest of the world seems to see. She sees grey and muddy colors that make her heart hurt.

On these days the only thing she really wants is to feel something. It doesn't matter what that emotion is, it can be anything, just so long as it's there. Those are the days she tries all the really dangerous stunts, hoping that maybe she would feel fear or – if she crashes – pain, because those are so much better than the dull loneliness all around her and all inside her.

A lot of times, she'll just sleep these days away, hoping to feel better when she wakes up, but she very rarely does. She wishes she could figure out how to explain it to the others so maybe they could understand and find some way to help her. But every time she thinks about it, she realizes she has no idea how to explain it.

Today is one of these days and today she wants to try something new. But she doesn't know what. She flies down from her house, flying over Ponyville, looking down at the streets and watching the other ponies going about their business. She sees the blurry outline of Applejack in the town square, probably out shopping of something.

She finds herself diving down before she could think of what she would even tell the farm pony. Less than a second later, she finds herself standing about two pony-lengths behind Applejack, waiting impatiently for her to turn around. Once she's finished at the booth, she turns around and sees her friend standing there. "Hey there, RD, how're you doin' today?"

Dash takes a deep breath before she falls in step with the other pony. "That's actually maybe kinda what I wanted to talk to you about," she says, her volume dropping as they walk past another pony.

Applejack nods, leading Dash away from the crowded market and towards an empty field. "What goin' on?"

"I don't know exactly," Dash whispers, unsure of exactly what she wants to say. She thinks about it, desperately searching for words to describe it. "It's like . . . have you ever been lonely even when there are other ponies around?"

The earth pony nods, "Well, yeah, Ah guess Ah have. Feelin' lonely around ponies ya don't know is normal, Ah mean, it's not-"

"No, I- I mean, have you ever been lonely around ponies you actually are friends with." As soon as she says that she realizes that might hurt Applejacks feelings and just as she opens her mouth to take it back the farm pony holds up a hoof to stop her.

"Ah can't say Ah have, but even if ya are, it may not mean ya don't really see us as friends. Maybe ya just need to talk about it. No matter what happens, we'll always be there for ya." Applejack says, putting a foreleg around Dash's shoulders.

"It all feels so grey," Rainbow dash says, her voice dripping with sadness so deep some may describe it as depression. "Like all the color in the world is gone."

Applejack is silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond to that statement. "It's okay, Rainbow, things'll get better. They always do." Rainbow looks down at the ground, trying to stop her eyes from watering any more than they already are. She doesn't want to cry. Crying is for little fillies, not grown mares. "I'll tell ya what, whenever ya feel bad, just come ta me and Ah'll do everythin' in my power to make you feel better."

Suddenly, Dash can't hold back the tears. She falls to the ground and Applejack lies down beside her, letting her friend cry into her orange coat. For the longest time, the only sounds heard by either of them is Dash's sobbing, but soon the pegasus breaks that silence. "I- I love you, AJ."

"Ah love ya too, Rainbow," she says, reaching out to take the other mare's hoof, "Ah love ya too."


End file.
